Impact of sleep restriction versus idealized sleep on emotional experience, reactivity and regulation in healthy adolescents

Sleep loss is associated with affective disturbances and disorders; however, there is limited understanding of specific mechanisms underlying these links, especially in adolescence. The current study tested the effects of sleep restriction versus idealized sleep on adolescents' emotional experience, reactivity and regulation (specifically cognitive reappraisal). Following 1week of sleep monitoring, healthy adolescents (n=42; ages 13-17years) were randomized to 1 night of sleep restriction (4h) or idealized sleep (9.5h). The following day, adolescents provided self-reports of affect and anxiety and completed a laboratory-based task to assess: (1) emotional reactivity in response to positive, negative, and neutral images from the International Affective PictureSystem (IAPS); and (2) ability to use cognitive reappraisal to decrease negative emotional responses. Large effects were observed for the adverse impact of sleep restriction on positive affect and anxiety as well as a medium-sized effect for negative affect, compared to the idealized sleep condition. Subjective reactivity to positive and neutral images did not differ between the groups, but a moderate effect was detected for reactivity to negative images whereby sleep-restricted teens reported greater reactivity. Across both sleep conditions, use of cognitive reappraisal down-regulated negative emotion effectively; however, sleep restriction did not impact upon adolescents' ability to use this strategy. These findings add to a growing body of literature demonstrating the deleterious effects of sleep restriction on aspects of emotion and highlight directions for future research in adolescents.