Purpose in life gives a good night’s sleep

HAVING a good reason to get out of bed in the morning can help you sleep better at night, research has shown.

The report in the journal Sleep Science And Practice said people who feel their lives have a purpose are less likely to suffer insomnia and sleep disturbances.

Although researchers looked at adults with an average age of 79 they believe the findings apply more generally.

Lead scientist Dr Jason Ong, of Northwestern University in the US, said: “Helping people cultivate a purpose in life could be an effective drug-free strategy to improve sleep quality, particularly for a population facing more insomnia. Purpose in life is something that can be cultivated and enhanced through mindfulness therapies.”

People who felt their lives had meaning were 63 per cent less likely to suffer sleep apnoea, a breathing problem that disturbs sleep.

They were also 52 per cent less likely to have restless leg syndrome, a sleep-disrupting urge to move the legs. A FAMILY relying on the father’s earnings alone has an average income no higher than it was 15 years ago, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

The research, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said because it is the father who is working with most one-earner families, these households have not benefited from relatively large increases in women’s earnings since the mid-1990s.