scholarly journals Live Fast, Die Young, and Sleep Later: Life History Strategy and Human Sleep Behavior

Author(s):  
Vahe Dishakjian ◽  
Daniel M T Fessler ◽  
Adam Maxwell Sparks

Abstract Background and objectives Life History Theory (LHT) describes trade-offs that organisms make with regard to three investment pathways: growth, maintenance, and reproduction. In light of the reparative functions of sleep, we examine sleep behaviors and corresponding attitudes as proximate manifestations of an individual’s underlying relative prioritization of short-term reproduction versus long-term maintenance. Methodology We collected survey data from 568 participants across two online studies having different participant pools. We use a mixture of segmented and hierarchical regression models, structural equation modeling, and machine learning to infer relationships between sleep duration/quality, attitudes about sleep, and biodemographic/psychometric measures of life history strategy (LHS). Results An age-mediated U- or V-shaped relationship appears when LHS is plotted against habitual sleep duration, with the fastest strategies occupying the sections of the curve with the highest mortality risk: < 6.5 hours (short sleep) and > 8.5 hours (long sleep). LH “fastness” is associated with increased sleepiness and worse overall sleep quality: delayed sleep onset latency, more wakefulness after sleep onset, higher sleep-wake instability, and greater sleep duration variability. Hedonic valuations of sleep may mediate the effects of LHS on certain sleep parameters. Conclusions and implications The costs of deprioritizing maintenance can be parameterized in the domain of sleep, where “life history fastness” corresponds with sleep patterns associated with greater senescence and mortality. Individual differences in sleep having significant health implications can thus be understood as components of lifelong trajectories likely stemming from calibration to developmental circumstances. Relatedly, hedonic valuations of sleep may constitute useful avenues for non-pharmacological management of chronic sleep disorders. LAY Summary Sleep is essential because it allows the body to repair and maintain itself. But time spent sleeping is time that cannot be spent doing other things. People differ in how much they prioritize immediate rewards, including sociosexual opportunities, versus long-term goals. In this research, we show that individual differences in sleep behaviors, and attitudes toward sleep, correspond with psychological and behavioral differences reflecting such differing priorities. Orientation toward sleep can thus be understood as part of the overall lifetime strategies that people pursue.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-176
Author(s):  
Achim Elfering ◽  
Christin Gerhardt ◽  
Diana Pereira ◽  
Anna Schenker ◽  
Maria U. Kottwitz

Abstract Purpose Accidents are more likely to occur during the morning hours of Mondays (Monday effect). This might be due to a higher level of cognitive failure on Monday morning at work. Methods In a pilot actigraphy study across one working week, we explored this Monday effect and regressed daily self-reported workplace cognitive failure on weekdays (Monday versus other days), background social stressors at work, delayed sleep onset and sleep duration. Diary data were gathered from 40 full-time employees. Results Confirming our assumptions, results revealed work-related cognitive failure and sleep-onset latency on the previous night to be higher on Mondays compared to other workdays. Work-related cognitive failure correlated positively with delayed sleep-onset latency and background social stressors. In multilevel regression analysis, Monday significantly explained variations in workplace cognitive failure. The addition of background social stressors at work and sleep-onset latency to the regression model showed unique contributions to the prediction of workplace cognitive failure. No significant two-way or three-way interactions between working days, sleep-onset latency or sleep duration, and background social stressors were found. Conclusion Peak levels of cognitive failure on Monday morning and the association of cognitive failure with social stressors at work contribute to understanding the mechanisms involved in the increased prevalence of occupational accidents on Monday morning. Occupational safety interventions should address both social stressors at work and individual sleep hygiene.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A78-A78
Author(s):  
Zahra Mousavi ◽  
Jocelyn Lai ◽  
Asal Yunusova ◽  
Alexander Rivera ◽  
Sirui Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Sleep disturbance is a transdiagnostic risk factor that is so prevalent among emerging adults it is considered to be a public health epidemic. For emerging adults, who are already at greater risk for psychopathology, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily routines, potentially changing sleep patterns and heightening risk factors for the emergence of affective dysregulation, and consequently mood-related disturbances. This study aimed to determine whether variability in sleep patterns across a 3-month period was associated with next-day positive and negative affect, and affective dynamics, proximal affective predictors of depressive symptoms among young adults during the pandemic. Methods College student participants (N=20, 65% female, Mage=19.80, SDage=1.0) wore non-invasive wearable devices (the Oura ring https://ouraring.com/) continuously for a period of 3-months, measuring sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, total sleep, and time spent in different stages of sleep (light, deep and rapid eye movement). Participants reported daily PA and NA using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule on a 0-100 scale to report on their affective state. Results Multilevel models specifying a within-subject process of the relation between sleep and affect revealed that participants with higher sleep onset latency (b= -2.98, p<.01) and sleep duration on the prior day (b= -.35, p=.01) had lower PA the next day. Participants with longer light sleep duration had lower PA (b= -.28, p=.02), whereas participants with longer deep sleep duration had higher PA (b= .36, p=.02) the next day. On days with higher total sleep, participants experienced lower NA compared to their own average (b= -.01, p=.04). Follow-up exploratory bivariate correlations revealed significant associations between light sleep duration instability and higher instability in both PA and NA, whereas higher deep sleep duration was linked with lower instability in both PA and NA (all ps< .05). In the full-length paper these analyses will be probed using linear regressions controlling for relevant covariates (main effects of sleep, sex/age/ethnicity). Conclusion Sleep, an important transdiagnostic health outcome, may contribute to next-day PA and NA. Sleep patterns predict affect dynamics, which may be proximal predictors of mood disturbances. Affect dynamics may be one potential pathway through which sleep has implications for health disparities. Support (if any):


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan A Samayoa ◽  
Nour Makarem ◽  
Vivian Cao ◽  
Moorea Maguire ◽  
Huaqing Xi ◽  
...  

Introduction: The Healthy Immigrant Effect refers to the phenomenon that recent immigrants are on average healthier than their native-born counterparts. Greater immigrant acculturation to the US has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), frequently attributed to factors including the adoption of Western diets and decreased physical activity. While immigrants may have healthier habits than US adults, which may confer protection from CVD, there is little research on sleep health, particularly in immigrant women. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that immigrants, particularly those with greater acculturation, would have more sleep problems. Methods: Baseline data from a 1-y, community-based cohort of 506 women (61% racial/ethnic minority, mean age=37±16y) was used to evaluate cross-sectional associations between acculturation and sleep. Women self-reported their immigration status and national origin. Acculturation was measured from responses to questions regarding language preference, nativity (sorted by regions: Asia, Caribbean, Latin America, other), length of residency in the US, and age at immigration. Sleep duration, sleep quality, risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and insomnia were assessed using validated questionnaires. Logistic regression models adjusted for age, health insurance, education and BMI were used to evaluate associations between acculturation measures and sleep characteristics. Results: Women who were immigrants (n=176) reported lower mean sleep duration (6.60 ± 1.25 vs. 6.85 ± 1.22 h, p=0.02) compared to non-immigrants (n=323); non-immigrants were more likely than immigrants to sleep ≥7h/night (OR: 1.50, CI: 1.01-2.22, p=0.04). Women who immigrated to the US before vs. after age 25 y had lower odds of having sleep onset latency ≥26 min (OR:0.97, CI:0.95-1.00, p=0.03). Immigrant women living in the US >10y vs. <10y had more than 2-fold higher odds of having longer sleep onset latency (≥26 min) (OR:2.43, CI:1.09-5.41, p=0.03). Immigrants from the Caribbean were more likely than immigrants from other regions to be at a high risk for OSA (OR:2.65, CI:1.07-6.55, p=0.04). Conclusions: Compared to non-immigrants, immigrant women exhibit shorter habitual sleep duration. Sleep problems may vary by age of immigration, years lived in the US, and region of origin, as those who immigrated when they were older and those who had lived in the US>10 y required more time to fall asleep and Caribbean immigrants had higher OSA risk.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Mousavi ◽  
Jocelyn Lai ◽  
Katharine Simon ◽  
Alexander P. Rivera ◽  
Asal Yunusova ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance is a transdiagnostic risk factor so prevalent among young adults it is considered a public health epidemic, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleep may contribute to mental health via affect dynamics. Prior literature on contribution of sleep to affect is largely based on correlational studies or experiments that do not generalize to the daily lives of young adults. Furthermore, the literature examining the associations between sleep variability and affect dynamics remains scant. OBJECTIVE In an ecologically valid context, using an intensive longitudinal design, we aimed to assess the daily and long-term associations between sleep patterns and affect dynamics among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS College student participants (N=20, 65% female) wore an Oura ring continuously for 3-months to measure sleep patterns, such as average and variability in total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), sleep efficiency (SE), and sleep onset latency (SOL), resulting in 1173 unique observations. We administered a daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) using a mobile health app to evaluate positive (PA) and negative affect (NA), and COVID-worry once per day. RESULTS Participants with higher SOL and TST on the prior day had lower PA the next day. Further, higher average TST across the 3-month period predicted lower average PA. TST variability predicted higher affect variability across all affect domains. CONCLUSIONS Fluctuating sleep patterns are associated with affect dynamics at daily and long-term scales. Low PA and affect variability may be potential pathways through which sleep has implications for mental health.


Author(s):  
Marco Del Giudice

The chapter introduces the basics of life history theory, the concept of life history strategy, and the fast–slow continuum of variation. After reviewing applications to animal behavior and physiology, the chapter reviews current theory and evidence on individual differences in humans as manifestations of alternative life history strategies. The chapter first presents a “basic model” of human life history–related traits, then advances an “extended model” that identifies multiple cognitive-behavioral profiles within fast and slow strategies. Specifically, it is proposed that slow strategies comprise prosocial/caregiving and skilled/provisioning profiles, whereas fast strategies comprise antisocial/exploitative and seductive/creative profiles. The chapter also reviews potential neurobiological markers of life history variation and considers key methodological issues in this area.


SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Lovato ◽  
Gorica Micic ◽  
Leon Lack

Abstract Study Objectives Compare the degree of sleep misestimation in older adults with insomnia presenting with objectively short relative to normal sleep duration, and investigate the differential therapeutic response on sleep misestimation between the proposed sleep duration phenotypes to cognitive-behavior therapy for insomnia (CBTi). Methods Ninety-one adults (male = 43, mean age = 63.34, SD = 6.41) with sleep maintenance insomnia were classified as short sleepers (SS; &lt;6 h total sleep time [TST]) or normal sleepers (NS; ≥6 h TST) based on one night of home-based polysomnography. Participants were randomly allocated to CBTi (N = 30 SS, N = 33 NS) or to a wait-list control condition (N = 9 SS, N = 19 NS). Sleep misestimation was calculated as the difference scores of subjective (sleep diary reported) and objective (derived from actigraphy) sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and TST at pre- and post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Results Prior to treatment, perception of SOL, WASO, and TST did not differ between patients with objectively short sleep duration relative to those with objectively normal sleep duration. Patients’ perception of WASO and TST, improved immediately following treatment and at 3-month follow-up relative to the waitlist group. These improvements did not differ significantly between those with short or normal objective sleep duration prior to treatment. Conclusions The degree of sleep misestimation is similar for older adults suffering from chronic insomnia with short or normal objective sleep duration. Irrespective of objective sleep duration prior to treatment, CBTi produces significant improvements in sleep perception. Clinical Trial Registration Number ACTRN12620000883910


SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A435-A436
Author(s):  
C Agudelo ◽  
W Tarraf ◽  
B Wu ◽  
D M Wallace ◽  
S R Patel ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Few studies have evaluated objective sleep measures and longitudinal neurocognitive decline, particularly in middle-age or Hispanic/Latino adults. We evaluated prospective associations between actigraphy-defined sleep and 7-year neurocognitive change among Hispanic/Latino adults. We hypothesized that sleep duration would be associated with neurocognitive decline. Methods We analyzed data from 1,036 adults 45-64 years of age from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a multi-center prospective cohort study of diverse community-dwelling Hispanic/Latino adults. At Visit 1 (2008-2011), participants underwent neurocognitive assessments, 7-days of actigraphy, home sleep testing, and sleep questionnaires (including the Insomnia Severity Index). Seven years later, participants repeated neurocognitive assessments. The neurocognitive battery included the Six-Item Screener, Brief Spanish-English Verbal Learning Test, phonemic word fluency test, and Digit Symbol Subtest. Survey linear regression was used to evaluate prospective associations between actigraphy-defined or self-reported sleep variables and neurocognitive change. Final models adjusted for objectively-defined variables (age, body-mass index, Field Center, and time between neurocognitive assessments), and self-reported variables (sex, education, Hispanic/Latino background, alcohol consumption, physical activity, heart failure, cerebrovascular events, depression and anxiety symptoms, and antidepressant use). Results At Visit 1, the sample was 55% female and mean age was 54.9±2.2 years. The mean sleep duration was 402.6±27.6 minutes, mean sleep-onset latency was 11.3±9.7 minutes, mean number of days with naps of ≥ 15 minutes duration was 1.1±0.7, and mean sleep-time per nap was 51±14.1 minutes. Increased sleep-onset latency was associated with 7-year declines in global neurocognitive function (β=-0.0026, p&lt;0.01), verbal learning (β=-0.0028, p&lt;0.001) and verbal memory (β=-0.036, p&lt;0.05). Increased sleep-time per nap predicted better verbal memory (β=0.0038, p&lt;0.05). In contrast, sleep duration, sleep fragmentation, and self-reported sleep measures were not associated with neurocognitive change. Conclusion Among middle-age adults, sleep-onset latency and nap duration were associated with neurocognitive change. These findings may serve as targets for intervention of neurocognitive decline. Support This work is supported by the National Institute on Aging: R01AG048642, RF1AG054548, R01AG061022, R21AG056952, and R21HL140437 (AR).


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1395310
Author(s):  
Shelia M. Kennison ◽  
Jennifer Byrd-Craven ◽  
Stacey L. Hamilton

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jody Dorgan

<p>Prior research on attitudes towards the police has largely focused on the relationship between demographic factors and perceptions of the police. These studies have produced inconclusive results, and there is no general consensus why and how demographic factors account for individual differences in attitudes towards the police. Life history theory, a “middle-level” evolutionary theory, is one that has largely been neglected in mainstream criminology, but has been used in the current research to explain individual differences in attitudes towards the police. Two studies, both using an online survey, were conducted to explore the extent to which life history strategy explained individual attitudes towards procedural justice, police legitimacy and police socialization after controlling for demographic factors, previous police interaction and prior arrest. Study one, a university sample of 305 participants and study two, a general population sample of 75 Wellington residents both found support for the application of life history theory being used to explain individual differences in attitudes towards the police. Overall, the current research showed that those with a slower life history strategy were more likely hold more positive perceptions of police legitimacy, procedural justice and police socialization regardless of demographic factors, previous police interaction, and prior arrest.</p>


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