Sleep loss and emotion: A systematic review and meta-analysis of over 50 years of experimental research.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental human studies
PubMed 38127505 · doi:10.1037/bul0000410
What was done
Preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizing experimental studies on sleep loss in healthy populations aged 7 to 79 years. Interventions included total sleep deprivation, partial sleep restriction, and sleep fragmentation. Outcomes examined were positive affect, negative affect, mood disturbances, emotional reactivity, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms across 154 studies (1,338 effect sizes; N = 5,717) using random-effects models.
What was found
All forms of sleep loss resulted in reduced positive affect (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.27 to -1.14), increased anxiety symptoms (SMD = 0.57 to 0.63), and blunted arousal in response to emotional stimuli (SMD = -0.20 to -0.53). Effects on negative affect, emotional valence reports, and depressive symptoms were mixed and depended on the type of sleep loss. Nonlinear effects for the amount of sleep loss and differences by sleep stage restricted (REM vs. slow-wave sleep) were also observed.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis provides clear evidence that sleep loss reliably impairs positive emotional states and triggers anxiety across a wide demographic range, clarifying distinct dimensions of emotional disruption.
Limits
The review was restricted to healthy populations under acute experimental conditions, limiting direct extrapolation to chronic sleep disorders or psychiatric cohorts. Findings for negative affect and depressive symptoms remained heterogeneous and inconclusive across paradigms.
Cited by
- supports Sleep deprivation is associated with and can trigger depression.