(1) What they like to do, (2) what kind of relationships they would like to have, both in their private life and their work life, (3) what kind of career they would like to have, and (4) lifestyle choices
2. Current and desired competencies and habits | (1) Qualities they admire in others, (2) competencies they have or would like to acquire, and (3) their own habits they like or dislike |
3. Present and future social life | (1) Relationship that energize and de-energize them, (2) kinds of friends and acquaintances that are good for them, (3) kinds of friends and acquaintances they would like to have in the future, and (4) what their ideal family life and broader social life would look like |
4. Possible future career (path) | (1) What is important in a job, (2) what is it they like to do, (3) what kind of colleagues do they want, and (4) whom do they want to meet through their work? |
5. Ideal versus less ideal future | Best possible self and future when there are no (self-imposed) constraints. Contrast this with “future if no changes are made” |
6. Goal attainment and “if-then” plans | (1) Formulating, strategizing, and prioritizing goals, (2) identifying and describing ways to overcome obstacles, and (3) monitoring progress toward goals |
7. Public commitment to goal | Photo with statement, which communicates their goals to the world; communicating goals to friends, co-workers |
Discovering Values and Passion
Discovering one’s passion has two sides: Doing what you “like” is often said to be important, but it seems that discovering what you find “important” is more helpful in igniting passion, as this is more values-based and will contribute to self-concordance ( Sheldon and Houser-Marko, 2001 ; Ryff and Singer, 2008 ). Recent research (e.g., Jachimowicz et al., 2017 ) has shown that it is important that people pursue a career that is in line with what they find to be “important,” rather than engaging in activities that they “like”; it found that those who engaged in activities that they liked (feelings-oriented mindset) exhibited less passion than those who engaged in activities that they thought were important (values-oriented mindset). Thus, while it is important that people discover what they feel passionate about, ideally this passion should also be aligned with values that they hold dear, such as collaboration, equality, and honesty ( Sheldon, 2002 ).
There is, however, also a difference between harmonious and obsessive passion (for a meta-analysis, see Vallerand et al., 2003 ; Curran et al., 2015 ). People with an obsessive work passion experience more conflict between work and other areas of life, and work is more related to their self-worth ( Vallerand et al., 2003 ). Harmonious passion was shown to be related to positive outcomes such as flow and enhanced performance, whereas obsessive passion was related more to negative outcomes, such as excessive rumination and decreased vitality ( Curran et al., 2015 ). Discovering a (harmonious) passion is not always easy.
In a life-crafting intervention, questions on this area could be similar to those listed in section 1 of Table 1 , involving also life style choices. In particular, choosing a lifestyle that involves physical activity seems to be a powerful way not only to increase self-regulation and self-control (for a review see Baumeister et al., 2006 ; Oaten and Cheng, 2006 ), but also to prevent mental illness, foster positive emotions, buffer individuals against the stresses of life, and help people thrive when they have experienced adversity ( Faulkner et al., 2015 , p. 207).
Gap Between Current Versus Future State: Current and Desired Competencies and Habits
In order to achieve a match between values and passion, it is important to become aware of one’s current habits and competencies as a first step in changing/adapting (cf., Schippers et al., 2014 ). Being aware of the habits you would like to change is important in promoting positive behavioral change ( Holland et al., 2006 ; Graybiel and Smith, 2014 ). Since most of our daily behavior is habitual, and this is usually functional in that it allows us to perform many tasks with minimum cognitive effort, but this same mechanism also makes habits hard to break ( Jager, 2003 ). Being aware of our habits and reflecting on them can be a first step in breaking them ( Schippers and Hogenes, 2011 ; Schippers et al., 2014 ); implementation intentions (i.e., if-then plans: “If situation Y is encountered, then I will initiate goal-directed behavior X!”) have also been shown to help in breaking old habits and forming new ones ( Holland et al., 2006 ). Many people have habits they would like to change (relating, for example, to eating behaviors, physical health, or substance use). However, it has been shown that the effect of good intentions such as New Year’s resolutions is very minimal ( Marlatt and Kaplan, 1972 ; Pope et al., 2014 ) and that it is the extent to which people have self-concordant goals, coupled with implementation intentions, that leads to successful changes in behavior ( Mischel, 1996 ; Koestner et al., 2002 ). Self-concordant goals are personal goals that are pursued out of intrinsic interest and are also congruent with people’s identity. Research has shown that if people pursue goals because they align with their own values and interests, rather than because others urge them to pursue them, they typically exhibit greater well-being ( Sheldon and Houser-Marko, 2001 ). This was shown to be true across many cultures ( Sheldon et al., 2004 ). In a life-crafting intervention, questions on this area could be similar to those listed in section 2 of Table 1 .
Present and Future Social Life
Research shows that people with a strong social network live longer and are healthier and happier ( Demir et al., 2015 ; Haslam et al., 2016 ). This network does not necessarily have to be very big, and it seems that, as one grows older, the quality of the relationships in this network becomes more important than the quantity ( Carmichael et al., 2015 ). Recent research places more emphasis on the quality of relationships, specifically showing that quality in terms of the social and emotional dimensions of relationships is related to mental well-being ( Hyland et al., 2019 ). The quality of the network has also been shown to be helpful during a transition to college ( Pittman and Richmond, 2008 ). Although at first sight it may seem odd to think about what kind of acquaintances and friends one would like to have, it may pay off to think about this carefully. Certain kinds of relationships, so called high-maintenance relationships, require a lot of time and energy ( Schippers and Hogenes, 2011 ; Fedigan, 2017 ) and often are characterized by negative interactions that can even influence self-regulation ( Finkel et al., 2006 ). It seems important that in general people seek out interaction with others who are supportive and from which they receive energy rather than those that cost energy. In a life-crafting intervention, questions on this area could be similar to those listed in section 3 of Table 1 . Practical questions in the intervention in this respect could be: think about your current friends and acquaintances. What kind of relationships energize you? What kind of relationships require energy? Why is that? What kind of friends and acquaintances do you need? What kind of friends and acquaintances would you like to have in the future? What does your ideal family life and broader social life look like?
Future Life: Career
Work is an important part of life. For many it is important to have a job that suits them, and a job which they feel passionate about and from which they can get energy (see Werner et al., 2016 ; Downes et al., 2017 ). However, research on mental illness prevails the literature in occupational health psychology, despite a call for a shift toward more research into positive psychology as antipode for work-related health problems such as job burnout. Especially in times where employees are required to be proactive and responsible for their own professional development, and to commit to high quality performance standards, it is important to think about activities that energize people and make them feel engaged with their work ( Bakker et al., 2008 ; Schippers and Hogenes, 2011 ). Relatedly, research on job crafting shows that people can actively enhance the personal meaning of their work and make it more enjoyable by changing cognitive, task, or relational aspects to shape interactions and relationships with others at work ( Wrzesniewski and Dutton, 2001 ). Consequently, it is not always the job itself but the meaning you give to it that is important ( Demerouti et al., 2015 ). It is also important to think about when and where you do each particular task, in order to manage your daily energy ( Wessels et al., 2019 ).
It should be noted, however, that it is also important to see work in relation to other areas of life. Christensen (2010) noted that many of his contemporaries ended up working 70-h working weeks and also were often divorced and estranged from their children over time. They could not imagine that this end result was a deliberate choice, so it seems important to choose the kind of person you want to become not only in your career but also in other areas of life ( Christensen, 2010 ). This also means making strategic decisions about how to allocate your time and energy, instead of letting daily hassles make these decisions for you ( Christensen, 2017 ). In a life-crafting intervention, participants could be asked to think about what they would ideally like to do in their job, and what kinds of people they might be working with, either directly or indirectly. They could be asked to reflect on their education and their career, and to consider what they feel to be important in a job and what their ideal colleagues would be like. The questions would thus be similar in nature to those shown in section 4 of Table 1 .
Of course, some people choose a job that they do not necessarily like a lot but then make sure their leisure time is filled with meaningful activities ( Berg et al., 2010 ), and leisure crafting has been shown to make up to a certain extent for having few opportunities for job crafting. So weighing up the balance between work life and leisure activities and making conscious decisions in this respect seems very important.
Key Element: Ideal Future Versus Future If You Do Not Take Action
As people are able to think about and fantasize a future ( Oettingen et al., 2018 ), it is key that the future they envisage is one that is attractive to them. Likewise it is vital they formulate plans of how to achieve their desired future (implementation intentions) and contrast this in their minds with an undesired future ( Oettingen and Gollwitzer, 2010 ; Oettingen et al., 2013 ). In a university context, and more generally in order to stay engaged, it is important that people choose goals that are self-concordant. It has been shown that if people formulate such goals implicitly by visualizing their best possible self, this can be very powerful and has a stronger effect on well-being than exercises such as gratitude letters ( Sheldon and Lyubomirsky, 2006 ). Other research has shown that writing about the best possible self in three domains—personal, relational, and professional—leads to increased optimism ( Meevissen et al., 2011 ). A meta-analysis showed that best possible self was a particularly powerful intervention in terms of enhancing optimism ( Malouff and Schutte, 2017 ). If this optimism is also turned into concrete plans for the future, there is an increased chance that this positive envisioned future will become a reality (cf., Schippers et al., 2015 ).
Based on the theorizing above, it should be stressed that in the intervention students formulate goals that they find important, not ones that others (parents, peers, or friends) find important or that are pursued solely for reasons of status. In the instructions in the intervention, the students are advised to choose goals that they think are important and want to pursue and not to choose goals that others (parents, peers, and friends) think are important. Otherwise, they will live someone else’s life. In order to make sure that they do not choose goals that will be detrimental to themselves or others, they are also advised to not describe an ideal life that includes harming themselves or others.
Additionally, it is also important that people imagine the future they are likely to face if they do not do anything . This represents a goal-framing effect, or the finding that people are more likely to take action when they are confronted with the possible consequences of not doing so ( Tversky and Kahneman, 1981 ). It might be useful to ask participants to visualize both a desirable and an undesirable future and to get them to contrast the two (see Oettingen, 2012 ; Brodersen and Oettingen, 2017 ). This would be a form of “metacognitive self-regulatory strategy of goal pursuit” ( Duckworth et al., 2013 , p. 745; cf. Schippers et al., 2013 ; see also Schippers et al., 2015 ). Other research has shown that positive “deliberate mental time travel” (or MTT) was related to a significant increase in happiness but not when the MTT was negative or neutral. However, neutral MTT was related to a reduction in stress ( Quoidbach et al., 2009 ). In the intervention (see also Table 1 , section 5), participants are asked what their future would look like if they did not change anything. What would their life look like 5–10 years down the road?
Goal Attainment Plans
After finishing the elements as described above, it is important for intervention participants to formulate concrete goals and plans. In the meta-analysis undertaken by Koestner et al. (2002) , it was concluded that it is important for personal goal setting to be combined with if-then plans. Self-concordance—the feeling that people pursue goals because they fit with their own values and interests—and goal attainment plans are important for goal progress ( Locke and Schippers, 2018 ). Since the rewards that come from achieving a significant life goal are often attained in the future, it is important to formulate concrete goals and also to identify the small steps toward them (see Trope and Liberman, 2003 ). While the first part of the student intervention is aimed at discovering their passions and ideas about their ideal life, the second part is much more concrete and follows the steps set out in research on goal setting, SMART goals, and if-then plans ( Oettingen et al., 2013 , 2018 ). The idea is that by making concrete plans and identifying obstacles (if-then plans), people are better able to visualize their desired future and will be less tempted to engage in activities that distract them from their goal ( Mischel, 1996 ; Mischel and Ayduk, 2004 ).
In this part of the intervention, ideally any obstacles to the plans will also be identified. In addition to the research on mental contrasting, which generally indicates that one should visualize both the goal and the obstacles to it (e.g., Sevincer et al., 2017 ), it is important that one should also visualize a way of overcoming those obstacles. This may be a vital element, as research has shown that mental contrasting works best for people who are very confident about succeeding ( Sevincer et al., 2017 ). The elements are outlined in Table 1 , section 6. The idea is that, based on what participants write when describing their ideal future, they then identify a number of goals (usually about six to eight), which could be personal, career, and/or social goals (e.g., Morisano et al., 2010 ; Schippers et al., 2015 ; Locke and Schippers, 2018 ). As detailed implementation plans have been shown to aid progress toward goals ( Gollwitzer, 1996 ), it is vital for participants to set down a detailed strategy for how they will achieve their goals. This part of the intervention asks participants about their motivations for their goals and gets them to consider the personal and social impact of those goals. They should also be asked to identify potential obstacles and how to overcome them and monitor progress toward the goals they have set. Participants should be instructed to be specific and concrete—for instance, to write down things that they will do weekly or daily to further their goals ( Morisano et al., 2010 ; Schippers et al., 2015 ). It may also be useful to get participants to make a concrete plan of action for the upcoming week and to make them specify for each day the hours they will spend working on the goal they have in mind.
Public Commitment
In this part of the intervention, participants can either write down a number of goals and make them public (read them out to others) or have a photo taken to accompany a public (“I WILL…”) statement, as was the case in the RSM intervention (see the examples mentioned earlier). Prior research has found that public commitment can enhance goal attainment ( Hollenbeck et al., 1989 ). This part seems to be related to enhanced commitment to goals as a result of self-presentation ( Schienker et al., 1994 ). Shaun Tomson, a former surfing champion and inspirational speaker, invites audiences to come up with goals and 12 lines, all starting with: “I will…” These lines are spoken aloud in a group as a form of public commitment ( Tomson and Moser, 2013 ). This makes it more likely that people will be more self-regulating toward goal-attainment and will put more effort into reaching their goals, especially if they are highly committed to reaching this goal ( McCaul et al., 1987 ).
Formulating clear goals has been shown to contribute to student well-being and academic success ( Morisano et al., 2010 ; Schippers et al., 2015 , 2019 ; Locke and Schippers, 2018 ). However, this has been often neglected in education and work settings resulting in a lack of evidence based tools. The effects of goal setting on the well-being of students have hardly been tested. Recently, calls have been made for positive psychology interventions to be made part of the educational curriculum in order to teach students life skills and to combat the rising number of mental health problems such as depression (e.g., Clonan et al., 2004 ; Seligman et al., 2009 ; Schippers, 2017 ).
Informed by the theoretical frameworks of salutogenesis, embodied cognition, dynamic self-regulation, and goal-setting theory, in this paper, we outlined a life-crafting intervention in which participants complete a series of online writing exercises using expressive writing to shape their ideal future. Important elements of such an intervention that were covered are: (1) discovering values and passion, (2) reflecting on current and desired competencies and habits, (3) reflecting on present and future social life and (4) future career, (5) writing about the ideal future, (6) goal attainment plans, and finally (7) public commitment to goals.
The idea is to use the fantasized ideal future to deduce goals and formulate a strategy to reach these goals. Finally, participants commit to their intentions by having a photo taken to accompany their goal statement, which is then made public. We described the key elements of this intervention and outlined the theoretical rationale for each of these elements. As previous research has shown that developing life skills, such as being able to set goals and make plans to achieve them (i.e., goal setting), increases the resilience, well-being, and study success of students ( Schippers et al., 2015 , 2019 ; Locke and Schippers, 2018 ), it may be important to make this intervention available to a wider population.
Future Research and Developments
As research shows that students in higher education are increasingly experiencing psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, and burn-out ( Gilchrist, 2003 ; Snyder et al., 2016 ), an add-on to the goal-setting program as described above is recommended. Rapid developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), especially areas such as emotion recognition, natural language processing, and machine learning have great potential to aid students experiencing study-related mental health problems ( Kavakli et al., 2012 ; Oh et al., 2017 ). For example, a goal-setting exercise could be enhanced by incorporating a digital coach in the form of a goal-setting chatbot. With this type of intervention, students are given immediate, personalized feedback after their writing assignments. After two longer writing assignments, which are part of the curriculum, the chatbot can help students to by asking questions on specific topics ( Fulmer et al., 2018 ). For instance, through personalized questions and feedback the chatbot could stimulate students to regularly reflect on their progress toward reaching a certain goal (“Did I invest enough time into my goals? What could I do to improve this? Which smaller sub-goals could help me to achieve my objective? What obstacles do I face? What ways do I see to overcome them?”). Depending on the answers the chatbot could also provide the students with different strategies. In addition, the chatbot can remind students of their goals and objectives during the year.
The expectation is that this addition to the intervention will allow students to reflect better on their own goals, so that a positive effect on student well-being can be expected and more serious problems can be prevented. What is also innovative is that the chatbot can ask additional questions about the students’ well-being. This gives the chatbot an important role in identifying possible problems. For students who have no problems or whose problems are minor, setting goals and receiving online feedback and coaching will be sufficient. In cases of more severe problems, the chatbot can offer more intensive coaching, or can refer them to the university’s psychological support or other professional services if necessary. In summary, the chatbot could provide a better connection between goal setting and the needs of the individual student and could help to integrate the life-crafting intervention into early stages of students’ academic career and can also deliver mental health care for students. Moreover, it could help integrate the life-crafting intervention with interactional forms of mental health care provided by the chatbot, thereby possibly increasing its effectiveness. In addition, goal diaries might form a way to provide insights into whether students are able to achieve important goals. Such diaries could also be used to assess their level of happiness and well-being and might be easily integrated into the interaction with the chatbot.
Next to examining how promising the intervention is in terms of its effects on students, future research could look at the effects of the life-crafting intervention in organizations. Prior research has shown that the effects from positive psychology interventions in organizations are promising ( Meyers et al., 2012 ). The relationship between different areas of life and decision making with regard to how to spend one’s time seems to be key ( Menzies, 2005 ; Schippers and Hogenes, 2011 ). Researchers could also examine what role life crafting might play at the team level.
Despite the obvious upside of experiencing meaning in life and having life goals as described in this paper, many people have difficulty choosing between the seemingly endless number of possibilities. The good news is that it is in principle never too late to find a purpose in life, although recent research suggests that it may be most beneficial to find a direction in life earlier rather than later (see Steger et al., 2009 ; Bundick, 2011 ; Hill and Turiano, 2014 ). It seems that interventions of the kind we have described above may be particularly helpful when one is entering into a new phase of life, such as when starting one’s study or just before entering the job market (see Kashdan and Steger, 2007 ).
The problem so far has been that most interventions are not easily taken to scale (for an exception see Schippers et al., 2015 ). Given the relatively low amount of costs and administrative work that the implementation of the outlined life crafting intervention entails, especially when compared to the potential benefits, we recommend its inclusion in student’s curriculums. Getting many (young) people to take part in an online life crafting intervention may be an important step in achieving not only higher academic performance, but also better well-being, happiness, health, and greater longevity (see Schippers et al., 2015 ). Using technology to assist with life crafting via a goal-setting intervention seems to be a particularly promising avenue as this is an approach that can be easily scaled up. Ideally then, these scalable and affordable interventions should not be regarded as an extra-curricular activity; it would be advisable to make them a formal part of the curriculum for all students. In a work context, employees could also benefit as this type of activity might be something that companies could easily offer. In short, life-crafting is about (1) finding out what you stand for (i.e., values and passions), (2) finding out how to make it happen (i.e., goal-attainment plans), and (3) telling someone about your plans (i.e., public commitment). Concluding, it seems that life crafting is about taking control of one’s life and finding purpose. Based on recent findings, it would be well-advised for many of us to carve out time to do an evidence-based life-crafting intervention.
Author Contributions
MS has written the draft of the manuscript. NZ provided important intellectual input at all stages and helped to develop, review, and revise the manuscript.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the members of the Erasmus Centre for Study and Career Success ( https://www.erim.eur.nl/erasmus-centre-for-study-and-career-success/ ) and Christina Wessels for their useful comments on an earlier version of this paper.
1 see https://www.rsm.nl/iwilleveryone/ .
A student, participating in the intervention, described its effect on him as follows (see also Singeling, 2017 ).
“I studied, or at least I attempted to study, a lot of different things before I came here. But usually I stopped halfway through. And then I ended up here and I liked the courses well enough, but once again it was completely unplanned. I came here because, well, it was expected of me to finish some kind of university course.
When I got here, and all the “I WILL” stuff [life crafting/goal setting] happened, I thought it was a complete and utter joke. I thought: who needs this kind of stuff? Between the second and the third [trimester], so towards the end of the second really, I started to realize that: you know those silly goals I put down? I’m actually close to completing some of those. That got me inspired to apply for the position of mentor for the BA business skills course. And in the third year, for my minor, I took a teaching class. A few of my students who started off basically slacking through everything, they are taking their assignments more seriously. Instead of doing everything the evening beforehand, they are dedicating a week beforehand. It’s tiny steps, but they are tiny steps that would not have happened without the goal setting.
Quite simply, I’m proud of the things that I have been doing, such as teaching, and I’m proud that it came through goal setting. It’s why in the end I have changed my I WILL statement: “I will help the next generation to be better.”
From this extract, it can be seen that the intervention seemed to inspire the student to be clearer about his goals, to dedicate time to them, and also to use them to help other students. Furthermore, it serves to illustrate the concept of an upward spiral ( Sheldon and Houser-Marko, 2001 ; Sekerka et al., 2012 ), where trough tiny steps (starting to study for an exam earlier) goals are attained.
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What Is Early Childhood Development? A Guide to the Science (ECD 1.0)
Healthy development in the early years (particularly birth to three) provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation. What can we do during this incredibly important period to ensure that children have a strong foundation for future development? The Center on the Developing Child created this Guide to Early Childhood Development (ECD) to help parents, caregivers, practitioners, and policymakers understand the importance of early childhood development and learn how to support children and families during this critical stage.
Visit “ Introducing ECD 2.0 ” for new resources that build on the knowledge presented below.
Step 1: Why Is Early Childhood Important?
This section introduces you to the science that connects early experiences from birth (and even before birth) to future learning capacity, behaviors, and physical and mental health.
This 3-minute video portrays how actions taken by parents, teachers, policymakers, and others can affect life outcomes for both the child and the surrounding community.
InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development
This video from the InBrief series addresses basic concepts of early childhood development, established over decades of neuroscience and behavioral research.
This brief explains how the science of early brain development can inform investments in early childhood, and helps to illustrate why child development—particularly from birth to five years—is a foundation for a prosperous and sustainable society.
Step 2: How Does Early Child Development Happen?
Now that you understand the importance of ECD, this section digs deeper into the science, including how early experiences and relationships impact and shape the circuitry of the brain, and how exposure to toxic stress can weaken the architecture of the developing brain.
Three Core Concepts in Early Development
Advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, and genomics now give us a much better understanding of how early experiences are built into our bodies and brains, for better or worse. This three-part video series explains.
8 Things to Remember about Child Development
In this important list, featured in the From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts report, the Center on the Developing Child sets the record straight about some aspects of early child development.
InBrief: The Science of Resilience
This brief summarizes the science of resilience and explains why understanding it will help us design policies and programs that enable more children to reach their full potential.
Step 3: What Can We Do to Support Child Development?
Understanding how important early experiences and relationships are to lifelong development is one step in supporting children and families. The next step is to apply that knowledge to current practices and policies. This section provides practical ways that practitioners and policymakers can support ECD and improve outcomes for children and families.
From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts
This report synthesizes 15 years of dramatic advances in the science of early childhood and early brain development and presents a framework for driving science-based innovation in early childhood policy and practice.
Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families
Understanding how the experiences children have starting at birth, even prenatally, affect lifelong outcomes—as well as the core capabilities adults need to thrive—provides a strong foundation upon which policymakers and civic leaders can design a shared and more effective agenda.
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How Sleep Deprivation Impacts Mental Health
Columbia psychologist explains why poor sleep makes it more difficult to cope with stress and regulate emotions, share this page.
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Americans were having trouble sleeping before COVID-19. Unfortunately, it only got worse when the pandemic isolated us from friends and family, closed our schools and offices, and sent shock waves through the economy.
According to a study of 22,330 adults from 13 countries published in Sleep Medicine in November 2021, one in three participants, had clinical insomnia symptoms and nearly 20 percent met the criteria for insomnia disorder—rates more than double what they were before the pandemic. Furthermore, sleep disturbances were linked to higher levels of psychological distress. Anxiety and depression rates were also considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels in the same survey.
“Just like our electronics need to be charged, sleep may recharge or reset the brain to optimize functioning,” says Elizabeth Blake Zakarin , an assistant professor of psychology (in Psychiatry) and a clinical psychologist at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders.
Columbia Psychiatry News spoke with Zakarin about the psychological impact of sleep deprivation, challenges brought on by the pandemic, the influence of food on our sleep patterns, and effective treatments for sleep difficulties.
Why is sleep so important to our mental health?
Many of us know that we feel better after “a good night’s sleep” and more grumpy or foggy if sleep deprived. And there is now robust evidence similarly supporting that sleep is critical to not only our physical health but also our mental health. Poor or insufficient sleep has been found to increase negative emotional responses to stressors and to decrease positive emotions.
While more research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying the connection between sleep and mental health, we know that sleep is important to a number of brain and body functions engaged in processing daily events and regulating emotions and behaviors. Sleep helps maintain cognitive skills, such as attention, learning, and memory, such that poor sleep can make it much more difficult to cope with even relatively minor stressors and can even impact our ability to perceive the world accurately.
What are the psychological effects of sleep deprivation? Is there a link between insufficient sleep, mental health disorders (also suicidal ideation)?
Absolutely. Not getting enough sleep or poor-quality sleep can increase risk for mental health disorders. While insomnia can be a symptom of psychiatric disorders, like anxiety and depression, it is now recognized that sleep problems can also contribute to the onset and worsening of different mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation.
Sleep deprivation studies show that otherwise healthy people can experience increased anxiety and distress levels following poor sleep. Those with mental health disorders are even more likely to experience chronic sleep problems and, in turn, these sleep problems are likely to exacerbate psychiatric symptoms and even increase risk for suicide. The good news is that there are ways to improve sleep quality and quantity, so identifying and addressing sleep problems is critical to alleviating the severity of psychiatric disorders.
Do individuals vary on the amount of sleep they need? Are there really larks and owls?
The amount of sleep individual’s need in part depends on their age. In general, children and teens need more sleep than adults. While there are certainly individual differences in the amount of sleep each adult needs, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends that adults sleep at least 7 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health and functioning, with most adults needing somewhere between 7-9 hours. Teens typically need 8-10 hours and older adults (65 years and older) between 7-8 hours. Although the amount of sleep we get is important, good quality sleep is also essential.
In addition to the amount of sleep, there are individual differences in “chronotype” the natural inclination of your body to feel more alert at certain periods of the day and more tired at others. The two most well-known chronotypes are often referred to as “night owls” and early birds (or “morning larks”), though many people likely fall somewhere in between. Genetics, age, and other factors impact whether you are more likely an owl or a lark. As you can imagine, getting enough sleep with a typical work schedule may be easier to do for a lark than for a night owl.
The COVID-19 pandemic created a host of new challenges to sound sleep. What is “Coronasomnia” and how does it differ from insomnia?
Insomnia disorder, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) , is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early, resulting in daytime impairments. While insomnia symptoms and insufficient sleep were already a widespread problem pre-pandemic, people are reporting more sleep problems than ever before. The increase in insomnia and related sleep problems related to stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been labeled “ Coronasomnia .”
We know that stress can interfere with sleep and understandably the global pandemic has significantly increased daily stress and uncertainty. Spending more time at home and changes to daily routine can also impact sleep patterns by limiting light-based cues for wakefulness that help keep your circadian rhythm on schedule. And more time in bed and less activity or exercise can also interfere with sleep by reducing sleep drive. In a survey by AASM, over half (56%) of Americans (and 70% among those 35-44 years old) say they have experienced sleep disturbances during the pandemic. Common sleep disturbances include problems falling or staying asleep, sleeping less, and experiencing worse quality sleep.
Are there foods that promote sleep, and foods we should avoid? And can sleeping more help you lose weight?
Reduced sleep has been linked with increased eating and higher risk for weight gain and obesity. Conversely, studies show that getting more sleep can lead to consuming fewer calories and improve weight loss.
While some foods, such as milk products, fish and fruit (for example, kiwis and tart cherries) have shown some sleep-promoting effects, research is too limited to draw definitive conclusions or recommendations about specific foods to help sleep. Growing research suggests that the quality of diet or having sufficient nutrients can impact the quantity and quality of sleep. Low fiber, high saturated fat, high sugar diets have been associated with poorer quality sleep. Another large study found that deficits in nutrients, like as calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, were associated with sleep problems. As such, it’s likely most important to focus on eating a balanced and consistent diet and creating healthy food-related sleep habits, such as limiting caffeine intake in the afternoon/evening and trying not to eat large meals too late.
For some, skipping sleep is a sign of strength and productivity. But health professionals have called for a cultural shift in the way we think about sleep. Is that shift happening?
Unfortunately, we know that pre-pandemic and especially over the course of the last two years, a large percentage of the population continues to experience insufficient sleep. Longer work hours, constant access to social commentary and entertainment, and increased stressors all contribute to people getting less sleep. The good news is that there is increasing awareness of the importance of sleep for daily functioning and health. In order to see a shift in sleep behaviors, ongoing work is needed to promote science-based policies that help improve sleep health, such as encouraging employers to help promote healthy sleep and introducing later school starting times. And we need to increase access to care for individuals with sleep difficulties.
What treatments are most effective for sleep difficulties?
For some sleep difficulties, adopting healthy sleep habits may help to improve sleep. However, those with more chronic insomnia should seek professional help, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which is recognized as a first line treatment for insomnia. CBTI involves educating people about sleep and aims to change their sleep-related behaviors and thought processes by teaching strategies such as stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation techniques and cognitive therapy.
If sleep problems persist or you continue to experience daytime sleepiness even after getting enough sleep, then it might be time to see a sleep specialist who can help determine whether you need cognitive behavioral therapy, medication, or another treatment.
In this video Dr. Zakarin discusses the relationship between sleep, mental health, and suicide in adolescents and steps we can all take to improve the quality of our sleep, which include some of the following:
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Here are the following 10 importance of research in our daily life: 1. Expanding Knowledge Base. Research acts as a door to education and continuous learning. Regardless of your expertise, there is always more to discover about a subject.
Research empowers us with knowledge. Though scientists carry out research, the rest of the world benefits from their findings. We get to know the way of nature, and how our actions affect it. We gain a deeper understanding of people, and why they do the things they do. Best of all, we get to enrich our lives with the latest knowledge of health ...
Why Research Is Necessary and Valuable in Our Daily Lives. It's a tool for building knowledge and facilitating learning. It's a means to understand issues and increase public awareness. It helps us succeed in business. It allows us to disprove lies and support truths. It is a means to find, gauge, and seize opportunities.
As a student, research plays an important role in our daily life. It helps us to gain knowledge and understanding of the world around us. It also allows us to develop new skills and perspectives. In addition, research helps us to innovate and create new things. Research is essential for students because it helps us to learn about the world ...
This chapter explores how scientific knowledge is generated, and how important that knowledge is in forming decisions in our personal lives and in the public domain. Use of Research Information Trying to determine which theories are and are not accepted by the scientific community can be difficult, especially in an area of research as broad as ...
Discuss how scientific research guides public policy. Appreciate how scientific research can be important in making personal decisions. Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world. Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people's authority, and blind luck.
Discuss how scientific research guides public policy. Appreciate how scientific research can be important in making personal decisions. Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world. Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people's authority, and blind luck.
Appreciate how scientific research can be important in making personal decisions. Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world. Without it, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people's authority, and blind luck. While many of us feel confident in our abilities to decipher and interact ...
In this article, we delve into the importance of research in daily life, making tangible the link between the seemingly abstract world of research and our everyday experiences. The Hidden Guide in Our Decision Making. One of the most immediate ways research impacts our lives is by informing our daily decision-making.
The Importance of Research in the Advancement of Society. Thanks to the internet and other technologies, life moves at a very fast pace. We're constantly adapting and learning new ways to do things-as well as expecting and even demanding innovation from our scientists, executives, and leaders. Without research, our demands would go ...
Source: University of Surrey. "The research has found that adolescence, the time when bone growth is most important in laying down the foundations for later life, is a time when Vitamin D levels are inadequate," says Dr Taryn Smith, Lead Author of the study. The study forms part of a four-year, EU-funded project, ODIN, which aims to ...
The process of science is a way of building knowledge about the universe — constructing new ideas that illuminate the world around us. Those ideas are inherently tentative, but as they cycle through the process of science again and again and are tested and retested in different ways, we become increasingly confident in them. Furthermore, through this same iterative process, ideas are ...
Builds up credibility. People are willing to listen and trust someone with new information on one condition - it's backed up. And that's exactly where research comes in. Conducting studies on new and unfamiliar subjects, and achieving the desired or expected outcome, can help people accept the unknown.
Importance of Research. There are several reasons why research is important. In every aspect of our lives, research plays a vital role. These aspects may include: Making informed decisions, Advancing technology and innovation, Resolving real-world issues, Enhancing education and learning, Promoting economic growth, and
Abstract. A working knowledge of research - both how it is done, and how it can be used - is important for everyone involved in direct patient care and the planning & delivery of eye programmes. A research coordinator collecting data from a health extension worker. ethiopia. The mention of 'research' can be off-putting and may seem ...
Research is the most important activity to achieve scientific progress. Although it is an easy process on a theoretical basis, practically it is a laborious process, and full commitment and dedication are of paramount importance. ... to improve the quality of life and to prolong overall survival. Pharmaceutical companies that sponsor research ...
A Student's Perspective on Research. A little more than a year ago each of us was madly scrambling to negotiate the process of graduate program admissions. Like many people who go to graduate school, each of us had some history of viewing academic efforts through the lens of "too much is never enough," and we applied our obsessive habits ...
Why research is important 3 concepts or constructs. A piece of research is embedded in a frame-work or way of seeing the world. Second, research involves the application of a method, which has been designed to achieve knowledge that is as valid and truthful as possible. 4 The products of research are propositions or statements. There is a
Conclusion. Research is part and parcel of life, in fact without research life will not be as it is. To live better life research is necessary; this is because research leads to innovation and invention. As far as science is concerned research leads to the invention of vaccines and drugs.
Abstractspiepr Abs1. Every day people do research as they gather information to learn about something of interest. In the scientific world, however, research means something different than simply gathering information. Scientific research is characterized by its careful planning and observing, by its relentless efforts to understand and explain ...
Research is fundamental to advances in human society. It emerges from our innate desire as human beings to seek to improve our lives and to control the world around us. To do this we have to improve our understanding and our insight - we have to know how things work (or don't work) so that we can find different ways to use them or make them ...
Research plays a vital role in our lives, from healthcare and education to technology and social policy. It is a process of investigation aimed at finding solutions to problems, expanding ...
Research on music, theater, dance, creative writing, and other participatory arts shows promise for improving older adults' quality of life and well-being, from better cognitive function, memory, and self-esteem to reduced stress and increased social interaction. Even hobbies as simple as taking care of a pet can improve your health.
Christians are the most likely to consider religion to be very important to them. About a third of Christians or more across the region say this, including two-thirds of Vietnamese Christians. Far fewer Buddhists say religion is very important to them. However, many Buddhists surveyed say that religion is at least somewhat important in their lives.
Future Life: Career. Work is an important part of life. For many it is important to have a job that suits them, and a job which they feel passionate about and from which they can get energy (see Werner et al., 2016; Downes et al., 2017). However, research on mental illness prevails the literature in occupational health psychology, despite a ...
Healthy development in the early years (particularly birth to three) provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation. What can we do during this incredibly important period to ensure that children have a strong foundation for future development? The ...
While more research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying the connection between sleep and mental health, we know that sleep is important to a number of brain and body functions engaged in processing daily events and regulating emotions and behaviors.
What is work-life balance? Work-life balance is typically defined as the amount of time you spend doing your job versus the amount of time you spend doing what's important to you outside of work, whether that is with loved ones or pursuing personal interests and hobbies [].]. When work demands more of your time or attention, you'll have less time to handle your other responsibilities or passions.