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Published on: October 2, 2019
Sleep spindle activity is associated with state- and trait-based emotion in healthy school-aged children
Annika M Myers1, Megan E Rech1, Bengi Baran2
1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Health and Biomedical Sciences Building, 4349 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77204, USA.
Insights
Sleep spindles in non-rapid eye movement (N2) sleep are linked to better emotional regulation in children. Higher spindle density reduced arousal to negative images, while higher frequency correlated with positive emotion strategies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Child Psychology
- Sleep Science
Background:
- Established links between children's sleep and daytime functioning.
- Limited understanding of specific sleep microstructures supporting emotional well-being.
- Importance of studying healthy children for insights into adaptive emotional development.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine associations between N2 sleep spindles and emotion regulation in children.
- Investigate relationships between sleep spindle characteristics and state/trait emotional measures.
- Clarify the role of sleep spindles in children's emotional well-being.
Main Methods:
- 30 healthy children (7-11 years) underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG).
- Automated algorithm detected N2 sleep spindle density and peak frequency.
- Emotional state and trait assessments included arousal to affective images, anxiety, depression, and savoring.
Main Results:
- Increased N2 spindle density correlated with reduced arousal to negative emotional stimuli.
- Higher N2 spindle peak frequency associated with greater use of savoring (positive emotion regulation).
- No significant association found between spindle parameters and child anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
- N2 sleep spindles appear to support adaptive emotional functioning in school-aged children.
- Findings contribute to understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of emotional regulation during sleep.
- Highlights the role of specific sleep features in promoting emotional well-being.
Background:
While connections between children's sleep and their daytime functioning are well established, less is known about the microstructural features of sleep that support emotional wellbeing. Investigating these relationships in healthy children may provide insight into adaptive emotional development. We therefore examined associations between non-rapid eye movement (N2) sleep spindles and both state- and trait-based measures of emotion.
Methods:
A sample of 30 children (7-11 years) without psychiatric disorders completed a baseline assessment, one night of at-home polysomnography (PSG), and an in-lab emotional state assessment the next day including self-reported arousal in response to affective images. Trait-based measures of anxiety and depression as well as savoring, a positive emotion regulatory strategy, were also completed. N2 sleep spindle parameters, including spindle density (number/min) and peak frequency in central regions, were detected using an automated algorithm.
Results:
Greater spindle density was significantly associated with decreased state-based emotional arousal towards negative affective images, and greater spindle peak frequency was associated with greater trait-based use of savoring. However, neither spindle parameter was associated with child anxiety or depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
Findings align with and expand on prior research to suggest that N2 sleep spindles support adaptive emotional functioning in school-aged children.
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