People are much more likely to lash out at their romantic partners over relationship conflicts after a bad night’s sleep, a new study has claimed. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found that sleepless nights can worsen lovers’ fights.
“Couples, who fight more, are less happy and less healthy. Our research helps illuminate one factor that leads couples to engage in unnecessary and harmful conflict by showing that couples experience more frequent and severe conflicts after sleepless nights,” Amie Gordon, UC Berkeley psychologist and lead author of the study, said.
While previous studies indicate that poor sleep has a negative impact on romantic relationships, these new findings shed more light on how bad sleep compromises couples’ ability to avoid and manage conflict.
“Even among relatively good sleepers, a poor night of sleep was associated with more conflict with their romantic partner the next day,” Chen, a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, said.
The participants who had slept poorly and their partners reported feeling more negatively toward one another during the conflict discussion, according to observations and their reports. Their conflict-resolution skills and ability to accurately gauge their partners’ emotions also suffered after a bad night’s sleep.
The study was published in the journal— Social Psychological and Personality Science.