The Interrelationships Between Sleep and Emotion Regulation

Dear Colleagues,

The complex, bidirectional relationship between sleep and emotion regulation is a critical frontier in psychological science and affective neuroscience. While healthy sleep facilitates the adaptive processing of emotional experiences, sleep disturbances—ranging from chronic insomnia to acute deprivation—frequently impair our ability to employ effective emotion regulation strategies. Conversely, heightened emotional arousal and maladaptive regulation often serve as primary drivers of sleep fragmentation.

This Special Issue aims to consolidate cutting-edge research that clarifies the mechanisms underlying this link. We invite original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and meta-analyses that explore the following topics:

• The neural and physiological correlates linking sleep architecture (e.g., REM sleep) to emotional reactivity.
• The impact of sleep interventions on emotional well-being and clinical outcomes.
• The role of circadian rhythms in daily affective fluctuations.
• Developmental perspectives on sleep and emotion, from infancy through to late adulthood.
• The influence of modern stressors, technology, and lifestyle factors on the sleep–emotion interface.

By bridging the gap between sleep medicine and affective science, this collection seeks to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding how sleep serves as a fundamental pillar of emotional resilience.

Dr. Asha Akram
Guest Editor

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