The effect of sleep deprivation and restriction on mood, emotion, and emotion regulation: three meta-analyses in one

Abstract

Study objectives: New theory and measurement approaches have facilitated nuanced investigation of how sleep loss impacts dimensions of affective functioning. To provide a quantitative summary of this literature, three conceptually related meta-analyses examined the effect of sleep restriction and sleep deprivation on mood, emotion, and emotion regulation across the lifespan (i.e. from early childhood to late adulthood).

Methods: A total of 241 effect sizes from 64 studies were selected for inclusion, and multilevel meta-analytic techniques were used when applicable.

Results: There was a moderate, positive effect of sleep loss on negative mood (g = 0.45), which was stronger for studies with younger samples, as well as a large, negative effect of sleep loss on positive mood (g = -0.94). For negative mood only, studies that used total sleep deprivation had larger effect sizes than studies that restricted sleep. After correcting for publication bias, a modest but significant negative effect for sleep loss on emotion (g = -0.11) was found; the valence of emotional stimuli did not change the direction of this effect, and type of sleep manipulation was also not a significant moderator. Finally, sleep restriction had a small, negative effect on adaptive emotion regulation (g = -0.32), but no significant impact on maladaptive emotion regulation (g = 0.14); all studies on adaptive emotion regulation were conducted with youth samples.

Conclusions: Sleep loss compromises optimal affective functioning, though the magnitude of effects varies across components. Findings underscore the importance of sleep for healthy affective outcomes.

Keywords: emotion; emotion regulation; meta-analysis; mood; sleep.

Figure 1.

Study inclusion flowchart.

Figure 2.

Forest plot summarizing heterogeneity, effect size estimates, and effect size confidence intervals for the effect of sleep loss on positive mood. PANAS, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule [35]; PANAS-C, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children [118]; POMS, Profile of Mood States [39]; VAS, Visual Analog Scale.

Figure 3.

Forest plot summarizing heterogeneity, effect size estimates, and effect size confidence intervals for the effect of sleep loss on emotion.

Figure 4.

Forest plot summarizing heterogeneity, effect size estimates, and effect size confidence intervals for the effect of sleep restriction on adaptive emotion regulation. BRIEF, Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, First Edition [111].

Figure 5.

Forest plot summarizing heterogeneity, effect size estimates, and effect size confidence intervals for the effect of sleep restriction on maladaptive emotion regulation. CONNERS, Conners Teacher Rating Scale, Revised [112]; EAS, Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Shyness Temperament Scale [113].