Affective Experience and Regulation via Sleep, Touch, and “Sleep-Touch” Among Couples

Roberts, Nicole A.; Burleson, Mary H.; Pituch, Keenan A.; Flores, Melissa; Woodward, Carrie; Shahid, Shiza; Todd, Mike; Davis, Mary C.

doi:10.1007/s42761-021-00093-3

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Improving relationships and increasing affectionate touch during waking and/or surrounding sleep may yield treatment benefits, as physical touch may influence affect regulation and intersect with interoceptive processes ( 55 ), which are compromised in FS ( 88 ). Sleep-touch may be particularly beneficial, because it often occurs during low- or decreasing-arousal states, with fewer concurrent salient stimuli to distract from touch’s calming effects ( 53 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants rated a single item, “How much do you and your spouse/partner ordinarily touch each other while sleeping in the same bed?” (0 = not at all to 4 = very much ) ( 53 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We assessed not only emotional avoidance, awareness, and regulation difficulties and tendencies, but also sense of connection to others psychologically and physical connection in social and partner relationships. We were especially interested in affectionate touch (including touch surrounding sleep, or "sleep-touch"), which is linked to affect regulation and relationship closeness (51)(52)(53), social and health benefits (38, 54), and emotional and somatic/body awareness (55), which are disrupted in FS (56).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socioemotional self- and co-regulation in functional seizures: comparing high and low posttraumatic stress

2023

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Functional seizures (FS) are seizure-like symptoms without electroencephalogram (EEG)-based epileptic activity. Those with FS often show emotion-related dysfunction and disrupted interpersonal relationships, in which posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTS) may play a role. We sought to better understand trauma comorbidities and socioemotional processes in FS, including affectionate touch, a form of social connection linked to emotion regulation and awareness. We administered questionnaires online to a community sample of 89 trauma-exposed FS participants (FS diagnoses were self-reported), 51 with and 38 without clinical-level PTS (FS-PTShi, FS-PTSlo) and 216 seizure-free matched trauma-exposed controls (TCs), 91 with and 125 without clinical-level PTS (TC-PTShi, TC-PTSlo) per the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Checklist (PCL). As hypothesized, both FS-PTShi and FS-PTSlo reported more emotional avoidance (Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire), more emotion regulation difficulties (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale), and more perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) than PTS-matched counterparts. FS-PTShi also reported less reappraisal (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire), more loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale), and less frequent affectionate touch (Physical Affection Scale) during waking and surrounding sleep than TC-PTShi, whereas FS-PTSlo and TC-PTSlo did not differ. Neither FS group differed from PTS-matched controls in emotion suppression (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire) or comfort with social touch (Social Touch Questionnaire). Among FS, FS-PTShi reported more difficulties than FS-PTSlo on nearly all measures (non-significant trend for social support). Findings underscore potential synergistic effects of FS and PTS clinical symptoms in shaping experiences of one’s emotions and social world, suggesting fostering meaningful connections with others, including via affectionate touch, is an important treatment target.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants rated a single item, “How much do you and your spouse/partner ordinarily touch each other while sleeping in the same bed?” (0 = not at all to 4 = very much ) ( 53 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socioemotional self- and co-regulation in functional seizures: comparing high and low posttraumatic stress

2023

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“…There is mixed evidence, however, as to whether touch while co-sleeping has a positive or negative impact on sleep quality. Some research suggests that spousal touch while co-sleeping is associated with increased sleep quality (Shahid, 2017) and related outcomes, such as improved mood (Roberts et al, 2022). However, other research has found negative associations between touch while co-sleeping and sleep quality (Dueren et al, 2022).…”

Section: Marital Quality and Insomnia Symptoms: Emotional Support And...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness and Marital Quality as Predictors of Older Adults’ Insomnia Symptoms

Lawrence,

Marini

2023

Int J Aging Hum Dev

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The current study examined associations between marital quality, loneliness, and sleep within a nationally representative sample of older adults who participated in Wave 2 of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). Participants ( N = 559) had a spouse or partner and completed a novel sleep module that included subjective (i.e., insomnia symptoms) and objective (i.e., wake after sleep onset;WASO) markers of sleep. Upon controlling for demographics and markers of mental and physical health, a distinct pattern of findings emerged for subjective versus objective markers of sleep. Regarding subjective sleep, older adults who experienced greater loneliness reported more insomnia symptoms, but only when spousal emotional support was low–moderate. Regarding objective sleep, older adults who reported more affectionate touch from their spouse experienced less WASO. Collectively, these findings identify specific aspects of marital quality that may have unique implications for partnered older adults’ subjective and objective sleep quality.

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