Baylor Study Finds 46 Extra Minutes of Sleep Boosts Gratitude and Resilience
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Time to read 7 min
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Time to read 7 min
We often think meaningful life changes require massive overhauls—new careers, major moves, dramatic transformations. But what if the difference between feeling depleted and feeling deeply grateful for your life came down to something far simpler?
Recent groundbreaking research from Baylor University reveals that adding just 46 minutes of sleep per night can measurably increase gratitude, resilience, life satisfaction, and sense of purpose. And perhaps most remarkably, the benefits extend far beyond how you feel personally—they ripple out into how you show up for others.
Published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, the Baylor study took a novel approach to sleep research. Rather than focusing solely on the negative effects of sleep deprivation, researchers asked a more hopeful question: Can more sleep actively enhance well-being?
Led by undergraduate researcher Alexander Do under the guidance of Dr. Michael Scullin (director of Baylor's Sleep Neuroscience and Cognition Laboratory) and Dr. Sarah Schnitker (director of the Science of Virtues Lab), the study monitored 90 healthy young adults over a single workweek using actigraphy devices.
What made this research novel was its positive psychology framework. As Dr. Scullin explained, "While it's recognized that sleep loss worsens mental health symptoms, there have not been experimental studies to test whether increasing sleep improves the positive aspects of life like feelings of purpose, hope and gratitude." Previous sleep research focused almost exclusively on the negative effects of sleep deprivation—this study asked whether sleep could actively enhance human thriving.
Participants were randomly assigned to three groups:
Sleep extension group: Earlier bedtimes that added an average of 46 minutes per night
Sleep restriction group: Later bedtimes that reduced sleep by an average of 37 minutes per night
Control group: Normal sleep patterns
Throughout the week, participants tracked their feelings of flourishing, resilience, and gratitude, and kept gratitude journals to measure behavioral expressions of thankfulness.
The sleep extension group showed marked improvements across every measure:
Increased gratitude for daily life and relationships
Enhanced resilience when facing challenges
Greater life satisfaction and sense of purpose
Improved flourishing—the psychological experience of thriving and purpose
Conversely, those who lost just 37 minutes per night experienced declines in these same positive attributes. Dr. Scullin noted that "when people were cut back on sleep by a mild average of 37 minutes a night, they experienced drops in mood, resilience, flourishing and gratitude."
Perhaps most telling: participants who extended their sleep wrote twice as much in their gratitude journals compared to the other groups—a behavioral change that suggested they weren't just feeling more grateful, but actively expressing it.
The Real-World Impact: Charitable Giving
The improvements weren't merely self-reported feelings. In a separate survey study published in Sleep Medicine, researchers analyzed data from 2,837 adults (average age 55) and found compelling evidence that better sleep translates into prosocial action.
People who slept 7-9 hours per night with good sleep quality were 7% to 45% more likely to donate to charitable organizations compared to those with poor sleep or insufficient sleep duration. As Dr. Scullin explained, "If you induce feelings of flourishing, then people are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors in helping others in charitable giving and civic engagements."
The connection between sleep and positive psychology runs deeper than simply feeling less grumpy when rested. Importantly, the Baylor study found that improvements in resilience, gratitude, and flourishing were not fully explained by mood changes alone. This suggests the benefits of more sleep had a greater effect on overall well-being beyond current moods and outlooks.
During sleep—particularly deep and REM stages—your brain performs critical restoration work that directly impacts emotional processing and perspective.
Gratitude and Perspective
Sleep deprivation narrows our cognitive focus, making us more likely to fixate on problems and miss positive moments. When well-rested, we're more able to notice and savor the good things in life—the morning coffee, a colleague's kindness, the sound of laughter. We literally perceive our world differently.
Resilience and Emotional Regulation
Sleep restores the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions essential for coping with stress. Adequate rest makes it easier to bounce back from setbacks and maintain perspective during challenges. Without it, minor frustrations feel insurmountable.
Prosocial Behavior and Connection
When exhausted, we naturally become more self-focused and less empathetic. The Baylor study found that better sleep fostered increased charitable giving and helping behaviors—sleep doesn't just make us feel better; it makes us better for those around us.
Dr. Scullin notes that "polling data indicates that happiness has declined in the U.S. in recent years, and during the same time period, sleep problems have been widespread."
Dr. Schnitker adds an important dimension: "This study is exciting because it expands what we know about the health effects of sleep restriction and extension to include variables related to forming flourishing moral communities." In other words, sleep isn't just personal wellness—it's foundational to building thriving, compassionate communities.
The beauty of this research is its accessibility. We're not talking about overhauling your entire life or sleeping 10 hours per night. Just 46 minutes—less than an hour—created measurable improvements in participants' sense of purpose, hope, and gratitude.
For many people, this might mean:
Going to bed at 10:30pm instead of 11:15pm
Skipping one episode of late-night streaming
Setting a gentle bedtime reminder
Creating a simple wind-down routine
The changes aren't about perfection. They're about prioritizing the foundation of well-being: restorative sleep.
The Baylor study inspired us to look at our own community's sleep patterns. We recently conducted an independent perception study with 500 Deep Zzzs users to understand not just if they were sleeping more, but whether that extra sleep was creating meaningful improvements in well-being.
The results exceeded even the Baylor findings:
On average, Deep Zzzs users gained 72 minutes of additional sleep per night—56% more than the 46 minutes shown to be transformative in the Baylor research.
But the benefits extended beyond duration:
87% preferred Deep Zzzs over any other sleep aid they'd tried
82% stayed asleep longer, waking 1.5 fewer times per night
80% found it easier to return to sleep after nighttime waking
82% reported more nights of quality, uninterrupted sleep
71% experienced reductions in anxiety, stress, and physical discomfort
These aren't just numbers—they represent people waking up with the energy and emotional capacity to notice life's goodness, handle stress with grace, and show up fully for the people they care about.
One of the most compelling aspects of the Baylor research is how it reframes sleep as not just personal self-care, but as a contribution to your community and relationships.
When you're well-rested, you:
Have patience for your partner, children, or aging parents
Bring creativity and problem-solving to your work
Notice opportunities to help others
Express appreciation more readily
Recover from conflict more quickly
Engage more deeply in meaningful activities
Sleep isn't selfish—it's the foundation that allows you to be your most generous, present, compassionate self.
If you're currently getting six hours or less per night, the Baylor study offers genuine hope: you don't need a complete life overhaul to experience more gratitude, resilience, and purpose. You need better sleep.
Start with these evidence-based steps:
Protect your bedtime. Calculate when you need to be asleep (not just in bed) to get 7-8 hours, then work backward to set a realistic lights-out time.
Create a wind-down ritual. The 30-60 minutes before sleep matter. Dim lights, avoid screens, and signal to your body that rest is coming.
Consider sleep support when needed. If racing thoughts, restlessness, or frequent waking prevent quality sleep, a natural sleep aid like Deep Zzzs can help you achieve the deeper, longer sleep that transforms how you experience life.
Track the changes. Keep a simple journal noting not just how long you slept, but how you felt the next day—your mood, patience, gratitude, and energy levels.
The Baylor research delivers a powerful message: sleep isn't a luxury or an indulgence. It's the foundation upon which gratitude, resilience, and meaningful connection are built.
Just 46 minutes more per night created measurable improvements in participants' sense of purpose and capacity for joy. That's not just about avoiding exhaustion—it's about unlocking a more grateful, resilient, generous version of yourself.
At Slumber, we've seen this transformation in our own community. When customers tell us they're sleeping 72 minutes longer each night, we know those aren't just extra minutes of unconsciousness. They're the building blocks of better days—more patience with loved ones, more creativity at work, more capacity to notice the goodness woven through ordinary moments.
Because better days truly do begin at night.
Alec Tremaine
Slumber CRO and Sleep Expert
Ready to experience the difference? Learn more about Slumber's Deep Zzzs Full-Spectrum CBD Sleep Gummies.
References:
Do, A.H., Schnitker, S.A., & Scullin, M.K. (2024). Gratitude, flourishing and prosocial behaviors following experimental sleep restriction and sleep extension. Journal of Positive Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2024.2394452
Nickel, A.E., & Scullin, M.K. (2024). Sleep quality and sleep duration are associated with charitable donations: Evidence from two population-based surveys. Sleep Medicine, 124, 378-380.
Slumber Deep Zzzs Customer Perception Study (2025). N=500 users.
