Practicing mindfulness and managing emotions leads to better sleep, says research

Mindfulness – focusing on the present moment – ​​can improve sleep, reduce stress and improve overall health. A new study led by the University of South Florida helps explain why.

Researchers studied 144 nurses for two weeks to see how well they could stay focused on the present and how often they fixated on negative thoughts. The nurses completed surveys three times a day and reported their sleep quality the next morning.

The findings shed light on how mindfulness relates to emotion regulation, the way people deal with stressful situations, such as a setback at work. They also provide a clearer picture of how employees and employers can reduce work-related stress, said Claire Smith, lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychology in the USF College of Arts and Sciences.

The paper is published in the news Health psychology.

“Mindfulness is often seen as a magical solution to employee stress,” says Smith. “The way it’s often talked about makes it seem like you’re staying grounded and accepting of the present moment, so you’re never stressed. For me, adding more nuance is crucial.”

That’s where the research comes in, providing insight into how the link between mindfulness and emotion regulation affects sleep quality.

“We know that a good night’s sleep restores us physically and psychologically, and keeps us happier, safer and even more ethical at work,” said Smith. “We wanted to investigate which aspects of sleep are affected by mindfulness and why.”

Smith’s team included three USF colleagues and two Penn State researchers. The researchers focused on nurses because of their long, irregular work hours and stressful work environment, which often leads to sleep problems that can affect not only their health but also patient safety.

The study found that mindfulness helped nurses experience fewer negative emotions and less rumination – repetitive negative thinking.

“For example, if you receive a negative performance review at work, you can choose to shift your focus from negative thoughts about how you failed and are incompetent to positive thoughts about what you did well and how you can grow,” says Smith.

Smith and her co-authors believe the findings can help employers make better decisions about implementing strategies to improve the health of their employees. Popular employer interventions include mindfulness-based stress reduction programs, along with yoga, meditation, tai chi and therapy. These programs have been shown to help employees manage stress and improve their overall well-being.

“Mindfulness is a hot topic, but we need to understand why it works,” says Smith. “Our research is about going back to the drawing board to understand the reasons behind the benefits of mindfulness at work.”

The authors recognize the need for further research into the best methods for reducing work-related stress and how they are applicable across different professions, including more traditional office environments outside of healthcare.

“We hope that future research into mindfulness looks not just at big outcomes, like better sleep or productivity, but also at how this affects things like managing emotions,” Smith said. “If an intervention doesn’t work, it helps us understand where the problem comes from. If it does work, it tells us why.”