The relationship between sleep and emotion regulation in individuals with depressive symptoms

Lunga, Kaolin

The relationship between sleep and emotion regulation in individuals with depressive symptoms

Thesis / Dissertation

2025

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Psychology

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

Individuals with depression have difficulties with both sleep and emotional regulation and tend to have high reactivity towards negative stimuli. Poor sleep in these individuals may contribute to increased emotional reactivity to negative stimuli, because sleep is known to modify reactivity to emotional, and especially negative, stimuli. This study aimed to investigate whether poor sleep quality is associated with increased emotional reactivity in individuals with depression. 69 participants (Controls group, n = 40; and Depressed group, n = 29) between the ages 18-35 years were recruited. I investigated whether individuals with depression would have poorer sleep quality compared to control participants. I also investigated whether those with depressive symptoms would rate negative stimuli more negatively after a sleep period and whether this trend would continue over time. I further investigated associations between poor sleep quality and emotional reactivity. Results showed differences in sleep quality between the groups, specifically in wake-period sleep quality indicators (feeling after waking, daytime sleepiness, and sleep regularity), with the Depressed group showing poor sleep quality compared to the Control group. Furthermore, the Depressed group showed increased emotional reactivity towards negative stimuli after sleep, but only during a second exposure to the stimuli. This result was not present in the Control group. This study also found that in individuals with depressive symptoms, feeling sleepier during the day was associated with rating negative pictures as more negative aftersleep. For healthy controls, regular sleeping patterns were associated with ratings negative stimuli more positively after sleep. These findings have implications for mood disorders such as depression; where sleep disturbances may modify emotion over time and this can lead to negative mood, especially in the mornings.

Keywords

sleep

emotional regulation

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