Authors' response to barber et al. commentaries: exploring the self‐regulatory strength model using sleep practices: potentials and pitfalls for future research

Are Better Sleepers More Engaged Workers? A Self‐regulatory Approach to Sleep Hygiene and Work Engagement

“…For example, good sleep hygiene requires self‐regulatory effort, as it requires clear standards for behaviour, self‐monitoring relative to those standards, and self‐control to adhere to the standards. This entails resisting impulses to use substances before bedtime or going to bed/waking at same time every day despite changes in work demands (Barber et al, ).…”

“…Self‐regulatory theory suggests that this process requires considerable cognitive, affective and behavioural resources, which are conceptualized as being limited and easily depleted (Muraven & Baumeister, ; Vohs & Heatherton, ). Researchers have proposed that sleep is a method of replenishing and enhancing self‐regulatory resources rather than being a resource in and of itself (Barber & Munz, ; Barber, Munz, Bagsby, & Powell, , ; Hagger, ; Zohar, Tzischinsky, Epstein, & Lavie, ). Poor sleep practices may prevent individuals from replenishing self‐regulatory resources that were depleted over the course of the day as a result of work and non‐work demands, leading to increased reactivity to stressors and heighted psychological strain (Barber et al, ; Hagger, ; Hamilton, Catley, & Karlson, ; Zohar et al, ).…”

Insomnia severity, combat exposure and mental health outcomes

“…Correspondingly, in a recent review of the role of sleep in health outcomes, Hagger (2010) discussed the importance of incorporating sleep when examining stress and health and described research on sleep as it assists in self‐regulatory capacity that can affect recovery from stress. Such studies supporting the concept of sleep as a technique for resource replenishment are elaborated in the work of Barber, Munz, Bagsby, and Powell (2010a; 2010b), who emphasized the role of sleep consistency, in addition to sleep sufficiency, in stress management and subsequent health outcomes. In addition, Anderson (2010) and Wright (2010) both suggested these sleep variables may, in fact, combine to increase the effects of stress, and research supporting this conclusion (Benham, 2010) noted the value of distinguishing between sleep duration and quality in future studies and incorporating such sleep measures in stress reduction strategies.…”

Sleep, self‐regulation, self‐control and health

“…Integral to the lead article, commentaries, and the authors' response (Barber, Munz, Bagsby, & Powell, 2010a) is the adoption of the limited resource account or 'strength' model of self-control, proposed by Baumeister and colleagues (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998;Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007;Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). In the model, self-control is conceptualized the ability or capacity to overcome or resist impulses and temptations and modify behaviour through active and conscious means.…”

“…He cites a recent study that demonstrates that training on tasks that require minimal self-control only have a limited effect on egodepletion, while tasks with higher self-control demands tend to be more effective in mitigating the ego-depletion effect (Hui et al, 2009). In their response, Barber et al (2010a) acknowledge the limitations presented by the commentators and provide a reasoned and evidence-based defence of their 'naturalistic' approach. They also acknowledge the need to control for additional factors including control for sleep timing and light exposure (Duffy & Czeisler, 2009), the role of individual differences in self-control and other personality and trait-like moderators (Hagger, 2009), and the need for experimental evidence that sleep consistency has a training effect on self-regulatory resources or merely reflects individual differences in selfcontrol.…”