Research shows that sleepiness affects the success of New Year’s resolutions

Researchers from the University of South Carolina, CQUniversity Australia and the University of Surrey recommend adding one more item to your list of resolutions: getting enough sleep. Their recent study, published in the Journal of Sleep Researchfound that sleepiness increases dependence on habits, whether good or bad.

“When our ability to control what we do is depleted by sleepiness, we tend to act more on ‘autopilot,’ with minimal prior knowledge,” says Amanda Rebar, associate professor of health promotion, education and behavior and director of the Motivation and Health Behavior Lab. at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health. “Our research shows this definitively: people were more likely to act habitually when they reported feeling sleepy. While this can result in higher levels of good habits, it can also lead individuals to fall back on bad habits. “

By following more than 100 individuals over the course of a week, the authors compared sleepiness levels and habits both between and within participants (that is, they compared them with each other and with themselves at different times during the week). When comparing individuals, they found that the sleepier participants were no more or less likely to engage in habitual behavior. However, they noted that when people were sleepier than what was normal for them, they were more likely to engage in habitual behavior.

Nearly a quarter of Americans report high levels of daytime sleepiness, which impacts alertness and an increased tendency to fall asleep during normal waking hours. In addition to the discomfort of daytime sleepiness, this condition affects individuals’ ability to consciously regulate their behavior.

“Acting in accordance with our preferences requires willful determination,” Rebar says. “Feeling sleepy diminishes our ability to exert that resolve against other competing desires and temptations. This can lead us to act habitually, in a way that is contrary to our goals.’

These competing desires and temptations may include watching TV instead of exercising or eating comfort foods instead of healthier choices. Relapses into existing habits become more likely as sleepiness increases.

“When we try to make positive changes in our behavior, feeling sleepy can put us at real risk of falling back into our old, unwanted bad habits,” says co-author Benjamin Gardner, director of the Habit Application and Theory- group at the University of Surrey. “Decline can cause us to lose confidence in our ability to change and give up.”

For those working on New Year’s resolutions, the authors recommend getting enough sleep to ensure the alertness needed to sustain new habits and maintain the willpower to ward off bad ones. Once these new habits are established, they are more likely to be relied upon when drowsiness strikes.