Researchers studying the belief in conspiracy theories have found a surprising link between sleep quality and individual susceptibility to believe in conspiracies.
Although further research is needed to pinpoint the cause of the observed correlation, the team believes that depression, which is often associated with poor sleep quality, likely plays a pivotal role.
Science Studying Conspiracy Theories and Sleep
While the new study from the University of Nottingham researchers examined the potential correlations between sleep and beliefs, science has long been fascinated with understanding why some people believe in conspiracy theories, and others don’t. One theory found that conspiracy theories offer a psychological payoff to believers, while another study required AI to track the complex evolution of conspiracies around COVID-19.
Researchers studying the idea that autism could increase the belief in conspiracies found that the condition had no effect on belief in either direction. Perhaps surprisingly, a 2021 study found that the social media site Twitter (now X), where conspiracy theories are often born and spread, determined that those platform’s users were better at resisting those beliefs than any other social media site due to its open nature and less curated groups.
Scientists examining why humans need to sleep determined that the brain needs to reset like a computer to maintain criticality. Sleep has also been shown to clear waste from the minds of lab rats that accumulated during waking hours and improve memory creation. Sleep is so critical to health that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is trying to hack sleep to maximize the performance of seriously sleep-deprived soldiers in combat.
The research team behind this latest effort has combined those two subjects to show how sleep quality and conspiracy beliefs may be related.
Poor Sleep Quality and Depression May Combine to Fuel Beliefs in Conspiracies
To conduct their analysis, a team from the University’s School of Psychology performed two separate studies involving over 1,000 study participants. The first study asked 540 participants to complete a standardized sleep quality assessment. Each participant was then directed to read an article about the 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris, France.
Notably, some participants read a version of the fire that suggested the fire was a deliberate cover-up. Conversely, the other participants read a factual account of the fire that determined the cause was an accident. After evaluating the individual sleep quality assessment and asking the participants about their reactions to the accounts, the researcher found that those who reported poorer sleep quality were likelier to believe the conspiracy theory version than those with high sleep quality.
The team’s second study involving 575 participants investigated the underlying psychological mechanisms that might explain the link. That effort showed that sleep quality and insomnia were “positively linked” to those who endorsed conspiracy theories.
“We found that poorer sleep quality and insomnia were positively correlated with conspiracy theory beliefs – conspiracy mentality and belief in specific conspiracy theories,” they write.
The study also found that depression, which has often been linked to sleep quality, likely played a key role in the connection. Additional psychological mechanisms correlated to poor sleep quality included anger and paranoia. However, the researchers found the effects of these conditions on conspiratorial thinking were “less consistent” than depression.
Focusing on Sleep as a Protective Factor Against Conspiratorial Thinking
In the study’s conclusion, the research team notes that their findings support the potential for sleep-focused interventions to help those most susceptible resist the lure of conspiracy theories. If successful, such interventions could help individuals maintain a critical perspective while evaluating ideas in a less emotionally driven way.
“Sleep is crucial for mental health and cognitive functioning,” explained Dr Daniel Jolley, Assistant Professor in Social Psychology and the research team leader. “Poor sleep has been shown to increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and paranoia – factors that also contribute to conspiracy beliefs. Our research suggests that improving sleep quality could serve as a protective factor against the spread of conspiratorial thinking”
The study “Investigating the Link Between Sleep Quality and Belief in Conspiracy Theories” was published in the Journal of Health Psychology.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.