Monitoring Daily Sleep, Mood, and Affect Using Digital Technologies and Wearables: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Sleep Science

Background:

• Sleep and affective states are intrinsically linked, yet research in naturalistic settings is limited.
• Understanding the dynamic interplay between daily sleep and emotional well-being is crucial.

Approach:

• A PRISMA-compliant systematic review of 121 studies was conducted.
• Data were sourced from EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases.
• Longitudinal associations were examined using ambulatory and prospective monitoring.

Key Points:

• Bidirectional sleep-affect associations exist across various age groups, affective disorders, and shift workers.
• Poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration consistently predict negative affective experiences.
• Subjective sleep parameters showed stronger associations with affect than objective measures.

Conclusions:

• Sleep disturbances significantly influence daily affective experiences, with sleep often being a stronger predictor of affect.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering subjective sleep quality for understanding sleep-affect dynamics.
• Further research should explore differential patterns across demographics and diagnostic groups.