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Have trouble sleeping? Dissatisfied with your life? The two just might be connected. In fact, people who experience ongoing sleep problems may be three times as likely to become dissatisfied with their lives later on, according to a new study from Finland.

The study, which looked at 18,631 same sex twins, measured sleep quality and life satisfaction in an interval of six years, first in 1975 and then in 1981. (To measure satisfaction people were asked about how hard they thought their life was, as well as feelings of loneliness, happiness and ability to experience pleasure or joy. Sleep was measured by both perceived quality and length of sleep.)

The researchers, from the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki, found that:

-- Participants who reported dissatisfaction with life in 1975 were also likely to be dissatisfied in 1981. However, their sleep quality did not deteriorate over this period.

-- People who said they slept poorly in 1975 were more than twice more likely to be dissatisfied with life in 1981.

After adjusting for other factors that may have played a role (such health problems, smoking and/or drinking habits, and physical activity level), researchers found that poor sleep independently tripled the likelihood of life dissatisfaction.

Sleep directly affects the brain, emotions, and mood

And while the findings indicate that bad sleep quality may lead to dissatisfaction with life, the reverse is not true, the researchers say. Rather, something about sleeping poorly in and of itself may affect "the brain, emotions, and mood," they wrote in a report about the study.

The study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology , January 15, 2009. (To read more, click here.)

The risks of a sleep-deprived lifestyle

These findings are only the latest to indicate how sleep affects our health, performance and sense of well-being. A sleep-deprived lifestyle, for example, has long been associated with a lack of mental alertness and cognitive abilities. Poor sleep can also impair the immune system, and even increase the risk for obesity and diseases such as diabetes, experts say.

And not surprisingly, there is also a strong link between sleep deprivation and traffic accidents.

So how much sleep is enough? It depends on your age. Experts say that infants generally require about 16 hours a day, while teenagers need, on average, about 9 hours. For most adults, 7 to 8 hours a night is thought to be best, although some people may need as few as 5 hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day.

Older people tend to sleep more lightly and for fewer hours, although they generally need as much sleep as they needed in early adulthood.

8 tips for better sleeping

If you're one of the 9 of 10 Canadians who report having sleep problems*, here are some tips for getting a good night's sleep.

Set a schedule and stick to it.

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