Improved sleep quality ‘delivers health benefits akin to winning lottery’

Getting a better quality of sleep can offer similar health and happiness to winning the lottery, a new study has suggested.

Research from the University of Warwick has indicated that improving sleep quality leads to levels of mental and physical health comparable to those of a person who has won a jackpot of around 200,000 pounds.

This conclusion was formed by analysing the sleep patterns of more than 30,500 people in UK households across four years, revealing that positive changes in sleep over time are linked with improved scores on the General Health Questionnaire.

People who reported positive improved sleep scored a two-point change, a result comparable to those recorded from patients completing an eight-week programme of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy designed to improve psychological wellbeing.

By contrast, a lack of sleep, poor-quality sleep and a greater use of sleep medication can lead to worsened medical and emotional states.

Dr Nicole Tang at the University of Warwick's department of psychology said: "We are far from demonstrating a causal relationship, but the current findings suggest that a positive change in sleep is linked to better physical and mental wellbeing further down the line."

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