Study finds that poor sleep quality increases aggression, possibly by affecting emotional cognition - PsyPost

Studies have shown that a lack of quality sleep can hinder our ability to regulate our thoughts and emotions and inflict consequences on our behavior.

Zhang and Lei obtained data from the Behavioral Brain Research Project of Chinese Personality (BBP), an ongoing study of undergraduate students from Chongqing, China.

To study the relationship between students’ subjective sleep quality and aggression across time, the researchers used a statistical method called cross-lagged panel analysis.

“Some researchers have suggested that high levels of aggressive behaviour may also contribute to poor sleep, but our findings do not support such a view,” Lei told PsyPost.

These results revealed that poorer sleep quality and increased aggression were tied to weaker activity in certain brain areas, namely in the limbic or frontal regions.

The results also revealed that poorer sleep quality and higher aggression were linked to stronger activity in the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain area implicated in emotion regulation.