Anticipating Sabbath Predicts Higher Quality Sleep: A Longitudinal Adventist Study

Abstract

High-quality sleep is essential for a healthy long life. Low-quality sleep is an unrecognized worldwide epidemic. To determine whether: (a) individuals who positively viewed that “the Sabbath brings rest” report higher-quality sleep in the future, (b) individuals who avoided secular activities on Sabbath report higher-quality sleep in the future, (c) moderation analysis identified the significant covariates effect of Sabbath rest on sleep disturbance, and (d) mediation clarified the covariate relationships of the two independent variables (Sabbath rest and secular activities). A generalized linear model was used for analysis. Multiple imputation was used for missing data. Less than 5% of total data was missing before imputation in this longitudinal, prospective-design study. Total sleep disturbance (TSD) in wave 2 predicted Sabbath rest from wave 1, p = .010. Results showed that participants who believed that “the Sabbath brings rest” had significantly less TSD overall, 4 years in the future. All ages, ethnicities, and genders benefited from Sabbath rest. None of the covariates lost significance for Sabbath rest. Anticipating a weekly Sabbath appears to improve longterm sleep quality, and therefore potentially contributes to long-term health benefits.