Sleep And Loneliness

Over at Cognitive Daily (at its new digs on Seed Magazine's new stable of Science Blogs), either Dave or Greta (can't tell which one) comment on an interesting study that suggests that lonely people have less efficient sleep. The study invollved college students without depression and incorporated measurements of sleep quality both in the lab and at home.

They conclude:

Whether loneliness causes poor sleep is not answered by this study, which can only show a correlation between loneliness and inefficient sleep. Perhaps poor sleep causes loneliness, or perhaps some other condition causes both loneliness and poor sleep (though individuals suffering from depression, possibly the most likely culprit, were excluded from this study).

If you have any crazy college sleep/sleep deprivation stories, share them in their comment thread. I'll be reading them over there with great interest.

Perhaps being gregarious exposes one to more germs. On the other hand, it appears that having sex boosts the immune system (from Countess and Blondesense). Perhaps having sex also makes one sleep better, too?

Reference:
Cacioppo, J.T., Hawkley, L.C., Berntson, G.G., Ernst, J.M., Gibbs, A.C., Stickgold, R., & Hobson, J.A. (2002). Do lonely days invade the nights? Potential social modulation of sleep efficiency. Psychological Science, 13(4), 384-387.