Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Dilbur Arsiwalla, Advisor

Keywords

Hormones; Sleep; Emotions;

Abstract

A large body of research focuses on the relationship between sleep and mental health. Poor emotional regulation is costly to the individual’s physical and mental health as well as the wellbeing of the community and economy. To further understand emotional regulation, the current study examines the potential interaction of sleep patterns and hormones. The goal of the current study was to isolate the potentially moderating role of hormones, specifically epinephrine and norepinephrine, as moderators in the relationship of sleep patterns and emotional regulation. The hypotheses were that (1) there would be a strong positive relationship between sleep patterns and emotional regulation, (2) there would be a strong positive moderating impact of epinephrine on the relationship between sleep patterns and emotional quality, and (3) there would be a strong negative moderating relationship between sleep patterns and emotional regulation. The sample included 420 participants, ages 24 to 74 years who completed telephone surveys, had a full biological assessment, and wore actigraphy watches to measure their sleep. Analyses were examined using a regression analysis and a moderation model using the PROCESS macro within SPSS. Results revealed a strong positive relationship for all sleep measures except for sleep time in partial support of the first hypothesis. Of the 16 moderation models ran, six were significant. Epinephrine had inconsistent results as a moderator in the relationship between sleep and emotional regulation. Norepinephrine also had inconsistent results in the relationship between sleep and emotional regulation. Hypothesis 2 and 3 were partially supported by the data. Clinical implications of this study are potential hormone-based therapies. Hormone levels may be an indicator of an emotional dysregulation in an individual. Practical implications of this study may be using sleep patterns and epinephrine/norepinephrine levels to assess the potential emotional dysregulation habits of that individual. Further studies should investigate alternative relationships of hormones in relation to sleep patterns and emotional regulation.

Year of Submission

2018

Department

Department of Psychology

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

12-2018

Object Description

1 PDF file (34 pages)

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Download

Comments?

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

COinS