Wake up for the environment: An association between sleepiness and pro-environmental behavior

This study was designed to identify the relationships between sleepiness, pro-environmental behaviors and the balance between optimism and pessimism (O/P ratio). Two questionnaire surveys were conducted to collect data from randomly sampled residents in Japan (n = 382 and n = 1200), in order to compare behavioral and psychological factors as a function of sleepiness. Both surveys consistently indicated that respondents with low sleepiness were less pessimistic, and engaged in pro-environmental behaviors more frequently compared to those with high sleepiness, and that sleepiness is negatively associated with the O/P ratio and pro-environmental behaviors, implying that sleepiness might hinder pro-environmental behaviors in daily life. The association also implies that psychological factors such as sleepiness, optimism and pessimism are important for facilitating behaviors favorable to society.