Impact of sleep deprivation on emotional regulation in college students.

Project Abstract

Sleep deprivation disrupts emotion regulation processes among college students, compromising daily functioning, academic performance, and psychosocial well-being. This study investigates the mechanistic pathways linking insufficient sleep to alterations in emotional reactivity, cognitive control of emotions, and interpersonal functioning, while considering moderating factors such as chronotype, gender, stress, and caffeine use. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining a longitudinal survey of 600 undergraduates across two academic terms with a laboratory-based experimental component in a subsample of 120 participants. Sleep duration and quality were assessed via actigraphy and validated self-report measures (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) to quantify acute and chronic sleep restriction, variability, and perceived sleep sufficiency. Emotional regulation was evaluated using behavioral tasks (emotional Stroop, affect labeling, reappraisal and suppression paradigms) and psychophysiological indices (electrodermal activity, heart rate variability) during emotionally evocative stimuli. Concurrently, affective experiences were measured through ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to capture day-to-day fluctuations in mood, stress reactivity, and social interactions. The study tests a hierarchical model wherein sleep insufficiency predicts diminished prefrontal regulatory control, heightened amygdala reactivity (inferred from behavioral and physiological markers), and reduced efficacy of cognitive reappraisal, culminating in maladaptive emotion trajectories. Mediation analyses examine whether executive function deficits and autonomic arousal account for the sleep–emotion link, while moderation analyses explore the buffering role of positive affect, sleep regularity, and social support. Multilevel modeling assesses within-person changes across weeks with fluctuating sleep patterns, and structural equation modeling evaluates cross-sectional versus prospective pathways. Preliminary findings indicate that shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality are associated with increased emotional lability, poorer performance on regulatory tasks, heightened physiological arousal to negative stimuli, and reduced use of adaptive strategies like cognitive reappraisal. These associations show stronger effects for evening-types and individuals reporting high workload or stress, suggesting circadian misalignment and stress interact to amplify emotion dysregulation. The results also reveal sex differences, with females exhibiting greater vulnerability in self-reported emotional instability, while males show pronounced physiological arousal responses. The study contributes to theoretical frameworks of sleep and emotion by integrating cognitive control, affective neuroscience, and real-world symptomatology within a college population. Practical implications include the development of targeted interventions to enhance sleep hygiene, promote adaptive emotion regulation skills, and mitigate academic and mental health risks associated with sleep loss. Limitations include potential self-report biases, laboratory constraints on ecological validity, and the challenge of disentangling trait versus state sleep effects. Future research directions propose longitudinal tracking beyond a single semester, exploration of chronotherapy approaches, and integration of wearable technologies to enable real-time personalized feedback for improving emotional resilience among students. Overall, the findings underscore sleep as a foundational regulator of emotional processes, with meaningful consequences for academic success and psychosocial functioning in higher education contexts.

Project Overview

What This Project Is About

---

A plain-language overview of how sleep loss can affect how people manage their feelings and reactions, especially among college students who often have irregular sleep patterns.

---

---

The Problem It Addresses

---

Many students report poor sleep, but researchers still need a clear picture of how missing sleep changes everyday emotional control, decision making, and stress responses. This project investigates that link and its implications for academics and well-being.

---

---

Objectives of the Project

---

1. Explain what emotional regulation means in simple terms.
2. Describe how sleep deprivation is measured and what counts as enough sleep.
3. Identify how lack of sleep relates to mood, impulse control, and social interactions.
4. Suggest practical strategies to mitigate negative effects.

---

---

What You Will Do Step by Step

---

1. Review simple definitions and prior studies on sleep and emotion.
2. Develop a small survey or use basic tasks to assess emotion regulation in participants.
3. Collect sleep data and emotion-related responses from a sample of college students.
4. Analyze patterns to see if poorer sleep links to tougher emotion regulation.
5. Discuss limits and practical tips for students and universities.

---

---

Expected Outcome

Clear evidence that sleep quality impacts emotional regulation, with uncomplicated implications for student life and campus health programs.