Sleep Quality Linked to Rumination

Jacob Nota and Meredith Coles from the Department of Psychology at Binghamton University in the US have made some interesting discoveries regarding sleep duration and timing. Their research confirmed what others had already noticed, that rumination (repetitive negative thinking) was associated with reduced sleep duration. In addition to this, they found that the timing of sleep was also important. Individuals that reported later sleep and activity times also reported more repetitive negative thinking.

People that ruminate tend to suffer more from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders. For those that sleep too few hours, increasing sleep has already been found to decrease symptoms of psychopathology. Further efforts to get to bed earlier may provide even more benefit.

These recent findings highlight the importance of sleep on health.

Dwelling On Stressful Events Can Increase Inflammation

A new study by Zoccola and colleagues found that people that were asked to dwell on a stressful event had higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is produced in the liver and its blood levels rise in response to inflammation e.g. infections, injuries, rheumatic or other inflammatory diseases, etc. Patients with high CRP concentrations are more likely to develop stroke, myocardial infarction and severe peripheral vascular disease.

The fact that rumination increases inflammation means that dwelling on negative thoughts has an adverse impact on pain and recovery from soft tissue injuries. Yet another brilliant example of the mind-body connection at work!