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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014;55(2):180-90.
doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12125. Epub 2013 Jul 30.

Sleep restriction worsens mood and emotion regulation in adolescents

Katherine T Baum  1 , Anjali Desai, Julie Field, Lauren E Miller, Joseph Rausch, Dean W Beebe
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Sleep restriction worsens mood and emotion regulation in adolescents

Katherine T Baum et al. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2014.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between inadequate sleep and mood has been well-established in adults and is supported primarily by correlational data in younger populations. Given that adolescents often experience shortened sleep on school nights, we sought to better understand the effect of experimentally induced chronic sleep restriction on adolescents' mood and mood regulation.

Methods: Fifty healthy adolescents, ages 14-17, completed a 3-week sleep manipulation protocol involving a baseline week, followed by a sleep restriction (SR) condition (6.5 hr in bed per night for five nights) and healthy sleep duration (HS) condition (10 hr in bed per night for five nights). The study used a randomized, counterbalanced, crossover experimental design. Participants' sleep was monitored at home via self-report and actigraphy. At the end of each condition, participants and their parents completed questionnaires of mood and mood regulation. To assess for expectancy effects, we also analyzed parent and teen ratings of hyperactivity/impulsivity, which prior research suggests is not sensitive to SR in adolescents. Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests compared questionnaire outcomes across the two conditions.

Results: Participants averaged 2.5 more hours of sleep per night during HS relative to SR. Compared with HS, adolescents rated themselves as significantly more tense/anxious, angry/hostile, confused, and fatigued, and as less vigorous (p = .001-.01) during SR. Parents and adolescents also reported greater oppositionality/irritability and poorer emotional regulation during SR compared with HS (p < .05). There were no cross-condition differences in depression or hyperactivity/impulsivity (p > .05).

Conclusions: Findings complement prior correlational study results to show that after only a few days of shortened sleep, at a level of severity that is experienced regularly by millions of adolescents on school nights, adolescents have worsened mood and decreased ability to regulate negative emotions.

Keywords: Adolescence; anxiety; mental health; pediatrics; sleep.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: No conflict of interests declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Design chart of sleep manipulation study design
Figure 2
Figure 2
Consort chart outlining participant recruitment
Figure 3
Figure 3
Self-reports on Profile of Mood States (POMS) by condition *Median scores indicated by solid line; the Vigor subscale is reverse scored, with higher scores reflecting more vigor/energy
Figure 4
Figure 4
Parent and self-reports of behavior and emotional control *Median scores indicated by solid line; Emotional Regulation subscale medians = 25th percentile.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Intraindividual change by condition on selected dependent variables. A-Self-report of Fatigue/Inertia on the Profile of Mood States (POMS); B - Self-report of Anger/Hostility on the POMS; C - Parent report of Hyperactivity/Impulsivity; D - Parent report of Emotional Control
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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