Sleep Moderates the Association Between Response Inhibition and Self-Regulation in Early Childhood

Abstract

Early childhood is a time of rapid developmental changes in sleep, cognitive control processes, and the regulation of emotion and behavior. This experimental study examined sleep-dependent effects on response inhibition and self-regulation, as well as whether acute sleep restriction moderated the association between these processes. Preschool children (N = 19; 45.6 ± 2.2 months; 11 female) followed a strict sleep schedule for at least 3 days before each of 2 morning behavior assessments: baseline (habitual nap/night sleep) and sleep restriction (missed nap/delayed bedtime). Response inhibition was evaluated via a go/no-go task. Twelve self-regulation strategies were coded from videotapes of children while attempting an unsolvable puzzle. We then created composite variables representing adaptive and maladaptive self-regulation strategies. Although we found no sleep-dependent effects on response inhibition or self-regulation measures, linear mixed-effects regression showed that acute sleep restriction moderated the relationship between these processes. At baseline, children with better response inhibition were more likely to use adaptive self-regulation strategies (e.g., self-talk, alternate strategies), and those with poorer response inhibition showed increased use of maladaptive self-regulation strategies (e.g., perseveration, fidgeting); however, response inhibition was not related to self-regulation strategies following sleep restriction. Our results showing a sleep-dependent effect on the associations between response inhibition and self-regulation strategies indicate that adequate sleep facilitates synergy between processes supporting optimal social-emotional functioning in early childhood. Although replication studies are needed, findings suggest that sleep may alter connections between maturing emotional and cognitive systems, which have important implications for understanding risk for or resilience to developmental psychopathology.

Parenting and toddler self‐regulation in low‐income families: What does sleep have to do with it?

“…Further, this study is focused on children from low‐income families, who are at relatively high risk for both self‐regulation and sleep difficulties. As suggested by prior work (Chiang et al., ; Schumacher et al., ; Tu, Erath, & El‐Sheikh, ) which is informed by the differential susceptibility model (Ellis et al., ), we hypothesize that toddler sleep will moderate the association between parenting and toddler self‐regulation such that toddlers who obtain less nighttime sleep and are exposed to negative parenting will have poorer self‐regulation skills than will those who obtain more sleep. We also examined effects of positive parenting and demographic covariates in an exploratory manner.…”

“…Similarly, associations between maternal sensitivity and later behavioral outcomes among infants are stronger in those who obtain more nighttime sleep than in those who sleep for shorter durations at night (Bordeleau, Bernier, & Carrier, ). Prior work also has shown that response inhibition is related to adaptive self‐regulation strategy use in preschool‐aged children, but this relationship disappeared when child sleep was restricted by about three hours (Schumacher et al., ). Poor integration of cognitive and emotional processes in this manner may place children at risk for future psychopathology (reviewed in Blair & Dennis, ), and children from low‐income families who are not getting adequate sleep may be particularly susceptible to later problems (El‐Sheikh, Kelly, Buckhalt, & Hinnant, ).…”

“…Therefore, toddlerhood is an important age at which to study the interplay of the sleep and self‐regulatory systems. Although the empirical evidence supporting sleep as central to self‐regulation during the toddler and preschool years is growing (Berger et al., ; Bernier, Carlson, Bordeleau, & Carrier, ; Miller et al., ; Schumacher et al., ), few if any studies have focused on both sleep and self‐regulation in children from low‐income familes at these developmental periods, despite their documented risk for poor functioning in both areas (El‐Sheikh et al., ; Evans & Kim, ; Singh & Kenney, ).…”

Sleep and Developmental Psychopathology: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…In this special issue, Schumacher and colleagues (2017) examine the impact of 1 night of sleep restriction (keeping a child up 3 hr past regular bedtime) on response inhibition and self-regulation in healthy, typically developing preschoolers. Sleep restriction was found to moderate the relationship between response inhibition and adaptive self-regulation; specifically, a strong association was found when children were well rested but not when they were sleep deprived (Schumacher et al, 2017). Although examining only acute sleep restriction, this study begins to shed light on the role that sufficient sleep duration plays in the emotional development of young children.…”

Future Directions in Sleep and Developmental Psychopathology

“…A single night of significant sleep loss (3 hr) has been shown to negatively impact outcomes in preschoolers (Schumacher et al, 2016). But it is more common for youth to chronically experience small amount of sleep loss (e.g., 30-60 min) every night across the school week, especially if there is technology in the bedroom (Buxton et al, 2015;Mindell et al, 2009).…”