Compassionate people appear to have a lower risk of insomnia and other sleep disturbances, according to researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland. The findings, published in Brain and Behavior, contribute to a growing body of evidence linking emotional traits to sleep health and overall well-being.
The study drew on data from the long-running Young Finns Survey, a comprehensive project that began in 1980 and followed thousands of individuals born between 1962 and 1977. In this analysis, researchers examined sleep quality for 1,056 participants who completed the Temperament and Character Inventory survey in 2001 and again in 2012. This approach allowed scientists to connect long-term personality patterns with sleep outcomes, offering a window into how character traits influence nightly rest and daytime functioning.
The Temperament and Character Inventory is a globally recognized assessment rooted in the psychobiological personality theory developed by American psychiatrist Robert Cloninger. The inventory measures a range of traits, including compassion, responsibility, and creativity, providing a nuanced view of how early personality dimensions relate to later health and behavior. By linking these traits to sleep data, the researchers could explore whether certain character profiles confer resilience against sleep problems or make individuals more susceptible to disturbances.
Across the cohort, compassionate individuals tended to report better sleep quality and fewer sleep-related problems compared with peers who scored differently on the same traits. The results also underscored that depression can impair sleep, independent of a person’s character and temperament. In other words, mood health appears to play a critical role in sleep outcomes and can compound or mitigate the effects of personality traits on rest.
The implications extend beyond academic interest. Understanding how compassion and related personality factors relate to sleep can inform approaches in mental health and public health. Interventions aimed at improving emotional well-being may, in turn, support better sleep, which then reinforces daytime mood, cognitive performance, and overall quality of life. The study emphasizes that while personality provides a useful perspective, mental health status remains a powerful determinant of sleep health, deserving attention in clinical assessments and wellness programs.