Personality Influences on Sleep Quality and Disorders

Sleep quality and disorders are influenced by enduring patterns of thoughts, emotions and behaviours known as personality traits. Research has consistently highlighted certain dimensions—most notably neuroticism and conscientiousness—as key predictors of sleep health. Individuals with high levels of neuroticism tend to experience greater emotional reactivity and rumination, which can precipitate sleep fragmentation, insomnia symptoms and non-restorative sleep. Conversely, higher conscientiousness is associated with disciplined sleep–wake routines and better adherence to sleep hygiene recommendations, supporting healthier sleep patterns. Other traits, including perfectionism, introversion and time-perspective biases, interact with cognitive and affective processes to modulate sleep onset latency, sleep maintenance and subjective sleep satisfaction. In clinical populations, personality affects vulnerability to sleep disorders and shapes treatment response, for example by influencing engagement with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. Network analyses have further illuminated how traits such as neuroticism serve as bridge nodes linking psychosocial stressors, dysfunctional beliefs and sleep disturbances. From public health to personalised medicine, understanding the interplay between personality and sleep offers novel avenues for prevention and intervention across diverse demographic and cultural settings.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A multicentre study of individuals with mood disorders found that neuroticism and macroeconomic stress independently predicted poorer subjective sleep quality. By applying the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index alongside a validated personality questionnaire, researchers observed that periods of economic recession amplified the impact of neuroticism on sleep disturbances. These findings underscore the role of stable emotional sensitivity in shaping sleep responses to external stressors, suggesting that interventions targeting emotional regulation may mitigate the adverse effects of systemic crises on sleep health.

Personality Influences on Sleep Quality and Disorders publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in personality influences on sleep quality and disorders across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Neuroticism: A personality dimension marked by emotional instability and proneness to negative affect.

Conscientiousness: A trait characterised by organisation, dependability and self-discipline.

Insomnia Severity Index (ISI): A self-report scale assessing the nature, severity and impact of insomnia symptoms.

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI): A questionnaire measuring subjective sleep quality and disturbances over a one-month interval.

Network analysis: A statistical approach modelling interrelations among symptoms, traits and other variables as nodes and edges within a network.

References

1. The great recession, neurotic personality, and subjective sleep quality among patients with mood disorders. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024).
2. Personality and insomnia: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Journal of Sleep Research (2023).
3. Psychosocial factors of insomnia in depression: a network approach. BMC Psychiatry (2023).
4. Insomnia and Personality—A Network Approach. Brain Sciences (2017).
5. Personality and Healthy Sleep: The Importance of Conscientiousness and Neuroticism. PLOS ONE (2014).
6. Too Imperfect to Fall Asleep: Perfectionism, Pre-sleep Counterfactual Processing, and Insomnia. Frontiers in Psychology (2018).
7. Time Perspective Biases Are Associated With Poor Sleep Quality, Daytime Sleepiness, and Lower Levels of Subjective Well-Being Among Older Adults. Frontiers in Psychology (2018).