Examining The Effects Of Sleep On Emotion Regulation In Response To Threatening Experiences
Threatening experiences can cause high levels of stress, which can negatively impact both physical and mental health. Emotion Regulation is critical for coping adaptively with stress. Research studies have shown that threatening experiences may disrupt sleep, which in turn may inhibit emotion regulation (ER). The relationship between threatening experience and ER has not been examined when looking at sleep as a mediator and in the context of COVID-19. Using a dataset examining self-reported physical health and ER task performance in the aftermath of a threatening experience, we will examine relationships between threatening experience, ER, and sleep. We hypothesize that participants who have experienced a recent threatening life event will have lower ER success. Moreover, we predict that ER ability will be further compromised by stress due to COVID-19 and poor sleep. This study will contribute to knowledge about the effects of the pandemic on stress and cognitive functioning, and further understanding of the importance of healthy sleep as a way of coping with stress.
