Disordered sleep is strongly linked to future depression, but the reasons for this link are not well understood. This study tested one possibility – that poorer sleep impairs emotion regulation, which over time leads to increased depressive symptoms. Our sample contained individuals with a wide range of depression symptoms, who were followed clinically over six months and reassessed for changes in depressive symptom levels. As predicted, maladaptive ER mediated both cross-sectional and prospective relationships between poor sleep quality and depression symptoms. (...) In contrast, an alternative mediator, physical activity levels, did not mediate the link between sleep quality and depression symptoms. Maladaptive ER may help explain why sleep difficulties contribute to depression symptoms; implications for interventions are discussed. (shrink)

This study examined the mediating roles of both positive and negative affects in the relationship between sleep quality and self-control. A sample of 1,507 Chinese adults completed self-report questionnaires measuring sleep quality, positive and negative emotions, and self-control. Poor sleep quality was positively correlated with negative affect and negatively correlated with positive affect and self-control. Positive affect was positively correlated with self-control, while negative affect was negatively correlated with self-control. Both positive and negative affects significantly mediated the relationship between sleep (...) quality and self-control. Improving individuals’ sleep qualities may lead to more positive emotions and less negative emotion, and these mood changes may increase resources for self-control. Regulating positive and negative affects may reduce the negative effects of poor sleep quality on self-control. (shrink)

Sleep has a profound effect on our mood, but insight in the mechanisms underlying this association is still lacking. We tested whether emotion regulation is a mediator in the relationship between fragmented sleep and mood disturbance. The effect of fragmented sleep on the emotion regulation strategies, including cognitive reappraisal, distraction, acceptance and suppression ability, was assessed. We further tested whether the use of these strategies, as well as rumination and self-criticism, mediated the association between fragmented sleep and negative and positive (...) affect. Participants (N = 69) wore an actiwatch and filled in a sleep diary for 12 consecutive nights. They had one control night and one sleep fragmentation night. Emotion regulation ability was assessed with an experimental task. Usage of emotion regulation strategies and negative and positive affect were assessed four times during the day with a survey after the control and sleep fragmentation night. Cognitive reappraisal, distraction, acceptance and suppression ability did not differ between the sleep fragmentation and control condition. However, participants reported higher usage of rumination and distraction after the sleep fragmentation night and rumination significantly mediated the negative association between fragmented sleep and negative affect. (shrink)