According to this research, during periods when participant’s sleep schedules were more varied, they were more likely to report depression symptoms in their quarterly questionnaires. They also reported lower mood on a daily basis.
Interestingly, even if they were getting an adequate amount of sleep, if they were going to bed and waking up at different times every day, they didn’t fare any better than those participants who got less sleep than them.
As professor and study co-author Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D. summarizes in a news release on the study, “These findings highlight sleep consistency as an under-appreciated factor to target in depression and wellness.”
This tracks with what sleep and health psychologist Joshua Tal, Ph.D. previously explained to mbg: “It’s really important to keep a consistent sleep schedule […] because our natural circadian rhythm may get a bit confused if we’re constantly changing our sleep schedule.” And a confused circadian rhythm, it seems, can make a good mood feel out of reach.
Moving forward, the Michigan research team hopes their findings can be expanded to the more general population, as we continue to better understand how sleep and mental health are connected.