Alexander J Scott, Jennifer Lomas, Scott Weich, Thomas L Webb
{"title":"Which cognitive emotion-regulation strategies are implicated in the association between sleep quality and negative affect?","authors":"Alexander J Scott, Jennifer Lomas, Scott Weich, Thomas L Webb","doi":"10.1080/13548506.2026.2746788","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Poor sleep is causally related to the experience of mental health difficulties, and improving sleep can also improve mental health, positioning sleep as an important transdiagnostic treatment target in mental healthcare. However, considerably less is known about the psychological processes through which sleep may influence mental health. Identifying these processes could refine theoretical understanding and reveal specific targets for interventions. This large preregistered cross-sectional study examined cognitive emotion regulation as a candidate mechanism. A total of 899 adults completed measures of sleep quality, cognitive emotion regulation and negative affect. Parallel mediation models examined indirect associations through adaptive and maladaptive regulation and nine specific strategies. The analyses indicated that poorer sleep quality was associated with greater negative affect (<i>β</i> = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.46 to 0.56). Indirect associations were observed through maladaptive regulation (<i>β</i> = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.18) and adaptive regulation (<i>β</i> = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.04). When all nine strategies were modelled simultaneously, indirect associations were observed through self-blame (<i>β</i> = 0.07), rumination (<i>β</i> = 0.05), catastrophising (<i>β</i> = 0.04) and refocusing on planning (<i>β</i> = 0.03). Cognitive emotion regulation therefore represents a plausible psychological process linking sleep quality with negative affect, particularly through maladaptive strategies. Self-blame, rumination and catastrophising provide specific, theoretically coherent priorities for future research. Nevertheless, the cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal ordering or causality. Longitudinal and experimental studies are now required to test whether poor sleep changes the use of these strategies, whether they subsequently influence negative affect, and whether modifying them improves the mental-health benefits of sleep interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":54535,"journal":{"name":"Psychology Health & Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-18"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychology Health & Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2026.2746788","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Poor sleep is causally related to the experience of mental health difficulties, and improving sleep can also improve mental health, positioning sleep as an important transdiagnostic treatment target in mental healthcare. However, considerably less is known about the psychological processes through which sleep may influence mental health. Identifying these processes could refine theoretical understanding and reveal specific targets for interventions. This large preregistered cross-sectional study examined cognitive emotion regulation as a candidate mechanism. A total of 899 adults completed measures of sleep quality, cognitive emotion regulation and negative affect. Parallel mediation models examined indirect associations through adaptive and maladaptive regulation and nine specific strategies. The analyses indicated that poorer sleep quality was associated with greater negative affect (β = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.46 to 0.56). Indirect associations were observed through maladaptive regulation (β = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.18) and adaptive regulation (β = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.04). When all nine strategies were modelled simultaneously, indirect associations were observed through self-blame (β = 0.07), rumination (β = 0.05), catastrophising (β = 0.04) and refocusing on planning (β = 0.03). Cognitive emotion regulation therefore represents a plausible psychological process linking sleep quality with negative affect, particularly through maladaptive strategies. Self-blame, rumination and catastrophising provide specific, theoretically coherent priorities for future research. Nevertheless, the cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal ordering or causality. Longitudinal and experimental studies are now required to test whether poor sleep changes the use of these strategies, whether they subsequently influence negative affect, and whether modifying them improves the mental-health benefits of sleep interventions.
期刊介绍：
Psychology, Health & Medicine is a multidisciplinary journal highlighting human factors in health. The journal provides a peer reviewed forum to report on issues of psychology and health in practice. This key publication reaches an international audience, highlighting the variation and similarities within different settings and exploring multiple health and illness issues from theoretical, practical and management perspectives. It provides a critical forum to examine the wide range of applied health and illness issues and how they incorporate psychological knowledge, understanding, theory and intervention. The journal reflects the growing recognition of psychosocial issues as they affect health planning, medical care, disease reaction, intervention, quality of life, adjustment adaptation and management.
For many years theoretical research was very distant from applied understanding. The emerging movement in health psychology, changes in medical care provision and training, and consumer awareness of health issues all contribute to a growing need for applied research. This journal focuses on practical applications of theory, research and experience and provides a bridge between academic knowledge, illness experience, wellbeing and health care practice.
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