How One Morning Habit Can Offer New Insight Into Your Personality
6 minute read
For most people, the ability to hit the hay every night is a slice of heaven on Earth, but what you do when you wake up the next morning might say a little more about yourself than you ever imagined.
According to a recent study performed by OnePoll and Sleepopolis, something as mundane as making our bed when we wake up in the morning can show insight into the inner workings of our personalities.
What Our Morning Routines Say About Us
The Sleepopolis study took a look at 2,000 American subjects and their morning routines. What the study seems to have found is that those who made their beds in the morning showed signs of having a seemingly more active lifestyle.
Those who made their beds in the morning reported having sex roughly three times per week as well as engaging in regularly scheduled exercise. Another key aspect reported in this group is the ability to wake up each morning without the assistance of an alarm clock.
On the adverse end, those that did not make their beds in the morning reported having sex twice a week as well as stating that they relied on alarm clocks, even if they have to repeatedly hit the snooze button.
Non-bedmakers also considered themselves as more shy and moody with an inquisitive nature and an affinity for the sarcastic while bed-makers considered themselves sociable, confident and leaning towards high-maintenance.
Bed-Maker Personality Traits:
♦ Morning person
♦ Typically works in health or technology
♦ More likely to enjoy jazz, romantic movies, and “House Hunters”
Non-Bedmaker Personality Traits:
♦ Night person
♦ Typically works in business or finance
♦ More likely to enjoy rock, comedy, and “Seinfeld”
However, one aspect that both sides agreed on was their average time spent actually sleeping. Both sides reported a nightly total of about six and a half hours of sleep per night.
However, on average, bed-makers woke up approximately 16 minutes before non-bed-makers, presumably, to make their beds and get a jump start on the day.
What’s More Important Than a Made Bed
Director of content at Sleepopolis, Logan Block stated that, “While it’s interesting to examine the differences between people who make their bed and people who don’t, the differences pale in importance to getting a good night’s sleep.” He continues, “results highlighted the sleep loss epidemic that Americans are facing—sleep is incredibly important to our mental and physical health, yet the average American is only getting six and a half hours per night.”
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the Sleep Research Society (SRS) highly endorse that adults sleep seven or more hours a night to reduce health risks. Incoming AASM president, Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson states that sleeping six or fewer hours a night is not sustainable to our health and safety.
He states, “More than a third of the population is not getting enough sleep, so the focus needs to be on achieving the recommended minimum hours of night sleep,” he continues, “Long sleep duration is more likely to reflect chronic illness than to cause it, and few experimental laboratory studies have examined the health effects of long sleep duration.”
However, bedmakers in the Sleepopolis study reported feeling overall happier and healthier. According to Psychology Today, in a recent study of 68,000 test subjects, 71% of the group that made their beds reported being happy while 62% of the non-bedmakers reported feeling an overall unhappiness in their lives.
CNBC indicates that getting a jumpstart on the day and making your bed can actually change various aspects of your life.
During a recent commencement speech given at the University of Texas, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Seal William H. McCraven told the graduating class that “if you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”
| Related: Don’t Blame the Mattress: Why a Bad Back May Be the Culprit |
Data from the National Sleep Foundation suggests that those who make their beds in the morning tend to fall asleep quicker and possibly get a more restful sleep because of the typical organized, put-together nature of their sleeping quarters.
62% of sleepers who participated in a Sleepopolis survey indicated that laying to rest in a tidy, organized room helped them feel more at ease. A messy room or bed could cause heightened anxiety before bed, leading to restless nights full of tossing and turning.
However, what most studies have found is while making your bed can have a positive impact on your life, it does not outwardly affect the amount of sleep people actually acquired each night as each side of the groupings still only slept less than the seven to nine hours that is typically recommended by sleep experts.
The Bottom Line
Whether or not you make your bed is up to you, but adding small modifications to your routine is a great habit to start. As we all want to live a healthier lifestyle, working little healthy actions into our habits is a great way to produce lasting results.
While your morning routine says a lot about you, it’s nothing written in stone. It’ more important to get enough sleep.
