0108 Sleep Deprivation Impairs the Ability to Reappraise Negative Situations

Abstract Introduction Sleep and emotion regulation are linked components in the development and maintenance of mental health disorders. Reappraisal is a commonly used emotion regulation strategy that may be impacted by sleep loss. Importantly, the literature to date primarily focuses on sleep-restricted adolescence when discussing the relation between sleep loss and reappraisal. Methods This study aimed to examine the relation between sleep deprivation and emotion regulation by asking 76 undergraduate students (39 men, Mage = 19.14; SD = 1.26) to reappraise a series of vignettes translated from the Script-Based Reappraisal Test (SBRT) before and after a randomly assigned night of sleep deprivation or normal sleep. Participants completed Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) ratings of valence and arousal after each script presentation. At-home sleep deprivation was confirmed with hourly check-ins via Qualtrics and a subset of 10 participants in the sleep deprivation group also wore actigraphy. Results Factorial ANOVAS with repeated measures were conducted to examine within-subjects effects, between-subjects effects, and interactions. With regards to valence, sleep-deprived participants struggled to reappraise as indicated by a significant effect of time (F(1, 74) = 11.23, p = 0.001), condition (F(1, 74) = 6.55, p = 0.012), and significant interaction (F(1, 74) = 13.83, p < 0.001). Pairwise contrasts demonstrate that sleep-deprived participants at post-manipulation reported more negative valence compared to their baseline (t(148) = 4.19, p < 0.001) and the control group at post-manipulation (t(148) = 4.27, p < 0.001). Additionally, there was a decrease in arousal, as indicated by a significant effect of time (F(1, 74) = 18.93, p < 0.001), condition (F(1, 74) = 5.08, p = 0.027), and significant interaction (F(1, 74) = 8.31, p = 0.005). Pairwise contrasts demonstrate that sleep-deprived participants at post-manipulation reported less arousal compared to their baseline (t(148) = 3.80, p = 0.001) and the control group at post-manipulation (t(148) = 3.43, p = 0.004). Conclusion This study expands the current literature on sleep loss and reappraisal. Findings may help inform mental health providers when working with patients that may struggle with emotion regulation concepts such as reappraisal. Support (if any) Internally funded Howells Student Research Grant (Grant Number: 2110.01S)