Late Evenings Linked to Repetitive Negative Thoughts in New Study

A new study published in the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research has found that people who sleep for shorter periods of time and go to bed very late at night are often overwhelmed with more negative thoughts than those who keep more regular sleeping hours.
Higher levels of repetitive negative thinking are associated with reduced sleep duration. Image credit: Sweet Briar College.

People are said to have repetitive negative thinking – a persistent and abstract focus on negative aspects of one’s experience – when they have bothersome pessimistic thoughts that seem to repeat in their minds.

They feel as though they have little control over these contemplations. They also tend to worry excessively about the future, delve too much into the past, and experience annoying intrusive thoughts.

Such thoughts are often typical of people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

Previous studies have linked sleep problems with such repetitive negative thoughts, especially in cases where someone does not get enough shut eye.

[link to www.sci-news.com]