Depression, anxiety and paranoia may make people more likely to believe misleading narratives (Image: Getty)
People who believe the Earth is flat or reptilians control the world may just need to go to bed earlier, research suggests. Experiments at the University of Nottingham found poor quality can make people more susceptible to .
In one study, 540 participants completed sleep assessments before reading an article about the 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris which provided either a factual account of events or a narrative suggesting a deliberate cover-up. Those who reported poorer sleep quality over the past month were more likely to believe the conspiratorial version. In a second study of 575 people, poor sleep quality and were linked to increased endorsement of conspiracies.
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Participants who were experiencing depression were particularly affected, with less consistent effects for those feeling anger and paranoia.
Study leader Dr Daniel Jolley, assistant professor in social psychology, said: “Sleep is crucial for mental health and cognitive functioning.
“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.”
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While some conspiracy theories are viewed as amusing, they can also have serious consequences such as increasing hesitancy, fuelling scepticism and seeding political distrust.
The team noted that improving sleep quality may help people to more critically evaluate information and resist misleading narratives.
The findings were published in the Journal of Health Psychology.