Skip to main content
Article

The Relationship Between Quality of Sleep and Emotional Empathy

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000177

Abstract. Sleep loss is known to severely disturb individuals’ mood and emotion processing. Here, we tested the hypothesis that quality of sleep is predictive of individuals’ performance on a task evaluating emotional empathy. We tested 34 healthy undergraduate students [19 males, mean (SD) age = 21.82 (3.26) years; mean (SD) education = 14.98 (1.91) years] recruited through the University of Calgary research participation system. We collected objective (actigraphy) and subjective (questionnaires and self-reports) sleep measures to characterize individuals’ sleep quality, and asked participants to solve a computerized emotional empathy task. We first performed a dimensionality reduction analysis on the sleep-related measures, which resulted in six principal components, and then ran a stepwise multiple regression analysis to investigate the sleep measures that best predicted participants’ scores on the emotional empathy task. We found that subjective sleep quality, together with sleep phase, best predicted participants’ empathic sensitivity to negative images while they explicitly evaluated the emotions of others (i.e., direct component of emotional empathy). Also, subjective sleep quality resulted to be the best predictor of participants’ arousal state in response to negative images, which is an implicit manifestation of their empathic experience (i.e., indirect component of emotional empathy). In both cases, lower subjective sleep quality was associated with lower empathic sensitivity to negative stimuli. Finally, sleep duration best predicted average empathic responses to stimuli of all valences, with shorter sleep durations associated with lower average empathic responses. Our findings provide evidence of a significant relationship between individuals’ quality of sleep and their ability to share the emotions experienced by others. These findings may have important implications for individuals employed in professions requiring social interaction and empathic experience coupled with schedules that interfere with nighttime sleep.

References

  • Acebo, C. & Carskadon, M. (2001). Scoring actigraph data using ACTION-W 2. Providence, RI: Bradley Sleep Center, Brown University. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Baglioni, C., Lombardo, C., Bux, E., Hansen, S., Salveta, C., Biello, S., … Espie, C. A. (2010). Psychophysiological reactivity to sleep-related emotional stimuli in primary insomnia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 467–475. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Baglioni, C., Spiegelhalder, K., Lombardo, C. & Riemann, D. (2010). Sleep and emotions: A focus on insomnia. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 14, 227–238. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Baglioni, C., Spiegelhalder, K., Regen, W., Feige, B., Nissen, C., Lombardo, C., … Riemann, D. (2014). Insomnia disorder is associated with increased amygdala reactivity to insomnia-related stimuli. Sleep, 37, 1907. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (2004). Essential difference: Male and female brains and the truth about autism. New York, NY: Basic Books. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A. & Carbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77–100. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Brand, S., Kirov, R., Kalak, N., Gerber, M., Schmidt, N. B., Lemola, S., … Holsboer-Trachsler, E. (2015). Poor sleep is related to lower emotional competence among adolescents. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2015.1048450 First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Buysse, D. J., Ancoli-lsrael, S., Edinger, J. D., Lichstein, K. L. & Morin, C. M. (2006). Recommendations for a standard research assessment of insomnia. Sleep: Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research, 29, 1155–1173. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Buysse, D. J., Angst, J., Gamma, A., Ajdacic, V., Eich, D. & Rossler, W. (2008). Prevalence, course, and comorbidity of insomnia and depression in young adults. Sleep-New York Then Westchester, 31, 473. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Buysse, D. J., Reynolds, C. F. III, Monk, T. H., Berman, S. R. & Kupfer, D. J. (1989). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Research, 28, 193–213. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Carney, C. E., Buysse, D. J., Ancoli-Israel, S., Edinger, J. D., Krystal, A. D., Lichstein, K. L. & Morin, C. M. (2012). The consensus sleep diary: Standardizing prospective sleep self-monitoring. Sleep, 35, 287. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Dziobek, I., Rogers, K., Fleck, S., Bahnemann, M., Heekeren, H. R., Wolf, O. T. & Convit, A. (2008). Dissociation of cognitive and emotional empathy in adults with Asperger syndrome using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 464–473. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Franzen, P. L., Buysse, D. J., Dahl, R. E., Thompson, W. & Siegle, G. J. (2009). Sleep deprivation alters pupillary reactivity to emotional stimuli in healthy young adults. Biological Psychology, 80, 300–305. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Gordon, A. M. & Chen, S. (2013). The role of sleep in interpersonal conflict do sleepless nights mean worse fights? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5, 168–175. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Guadagni, V., Burles, F., Ferrara, M. & Iaria, G. (2014). The effects of sleep deprivation on emotional empathy. Journal of Sleep Research, 23, 657–663. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Harvey, A. G., Stinson, K., Whitaker, K. L., Moskovitz, D. & Virk, H. (2008). The subjective meaning of sleep quality: A comparison of individuals with and without insomnia. Sleep, 31, 383. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Irish, L. A., Kline, C. E., Gunn, H. E., Buysse, D. J. & Hall, M. H. (2014). The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: A review of empirical evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 22, 23–36. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Kahn, M., Sheppes, G. & Sadeh, A. (2013). Sleep and Emotions: Bidirectional Links and Underlying Mechanisms. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 89, 218–228. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Killgore, W. D., Kahn-Greene, E. T., Lipizzi, E. L., Newman, R. A., Kamimori, G. H. & Balkin, T. J. (2008). Sleep deprivation reduces perceived emotional intelligence and constructive thinking skills. Sleep Medicine, 9, 517–526. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Kushida, C. A., Chang, A., Gadkary, C., Guilleminault, C., Carrillo, O. & Dement, W. C. (2001). Comparison of actigraphic, polysomnographic, and subjective assessment of sleep parameters in sleep-disordered patients. Sleep Medicine, 2, 389–396. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Kyle, S. D., Beattie, L., Spiegelhalder, K., Rogers, Z. & Espie, C. A. (2014). Altered emotion perception in insomnia disorder. Sleep, 37, 775. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Lang, P. & Bradley, M. M. (2007). The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) in the study of emotion and attention. In J. A. CoanJ. J. B. AllenEds., Handbook of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment (pp. 29–46). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Lim, J. & Dinges, D. F. (2010). A meta-analysis of the impact of short-term sleep deprivation on cognitive variables. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 375. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Lombardo, C., Battagliese, G., David, M., Lorusso, B., Baglioni, C., Espie, C. & Violani, C. (2013). Psychophysiological reactivity to symptom related emotional stimuli in insomnia: A replication and extension to disordered eating. Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 11, 20–28. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Minkel, J., Htaik, O., Banks, S. & Dinges, D. (2010). Emotional expressiveness in sleep-deprived healthy adults. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 9, 5–14. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Mollayeva, T., Thurairajah, P., Burton, K., Mollayeva, S., Shapiro, C. & Colantonio, A. (2015). The Pittsburgh sleep quality index as a screening tool for sleep dysfunction in clinical and non-clinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 25, 52–73. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Morin, C. M., Belleville, G., Bélanger, L. & Ivers, H. (2011). The Insomnia Severity Index: Psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response. Sleep, 34, 601. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Niu, S.-F., Chung, M.-H., Chen, C.-H., Hegney, D., O’Brien, A. & Chou, K.-R. (2011). The effect of shift rotation on employee cortisol profile, sleep quality, fatigue, and attention level: A systematic review. Journal of Nursing Research, 19, 68–81. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Paula-Perez, I., Martos-Perez, J. & Llorente-Comi, M. (2010). Alexithymia and asperger syndrome. Revista de Neurologia, 50, S85. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Pilcher, J. J. & Huffcutt, A. J. (1996). Effects of sleep deprivation on performance: A meta-analysis. Sleep: Journal of Sleep Research & Sleep Medicine, 19, 318–326. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. (2011). The neural bases for empathy. Neuroscientist, 17, 18–24. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Smith, A. (2006). Cognitive empathy and emotional empathy in human behavior and evolution. Psychological Record, 56, 3. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L. & Lushene, R. E. (1970). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Mountain View, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Tempesta, D., Couyoumdjian, A., Curcio, G., Moroni, F., Marzano, C., De Gennaro, L. & Ferrara, M. (2010). Lack of sleep affects the evaluation of emotional stimuli. Brain Research Bulletin, 82, 104–108. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • van der Helm, E., Gujar, N. & Walker, M. P. (2010). Sleep deprivation impairs the accurate recognition of human emotions. Sleep, 33, 335. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar

  • Yoo, S.-S., Gujar, N., Hu, P., Jolesz, F. A. & Walker, M. P. (2007). The human emotional brain without sleep‚ a prefrontal amygdala disconnect. Current Biology, 17, R877–R878. First citation in articleCrossrefGoogle Scholar