Sleep duration and RSA suppression as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behaviors

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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

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Sunghye Cho1, Lauren E Philbrook2, Elizabeth L Davis3

  • 1Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

Developmental Psychobiology
|September 1, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Adequate sleep duration and parasympathetic reactivity are key for toddler adjustment. Longer sleep with greater physiological response suppression predicts fewer internalizing behaviors, while shorter sleep with arousal predicts externalizing behaviors.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • The relationship between sleep, arousal, and emotion regulation is complex.
  • Limited understanding exists on how sleep duration and parasympathetic reactivity jointly predict early childhood adjustment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate sleep duration and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in toddlers.
  • To examine the combined influence of sleep and physiological regulation on child adjustment.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a sample of 123 toddlers.
  • Assessed sleep duration and adjustment via parental reports.
  • Measured RSA reactivity during fear-eliciting stimuli and an inhibitory control task.

Main Results:

  • Longer sleep duration coupled with greater RSA suppression predicted less internalizing behavior.
  • Shorter sleep duration and increased RSA augmentation during inhibitory control predicted more externalizing behaviors one year later.

Conclusions:

  • Toddler sleep duration is significant for adjustment.
  • The context of physiological regulatory difficulties is crucial for understanding behavioral outcomes.
  • Findings highlight the interplay between sleep, arousal, and emotion regulation in early development.

Keywords:
internalizing and externalizing behaviorsrespiratory sinus arrhythmiasleep

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