The whole is not the sum of its parts: Specific types of positive affect influence sleep differentially.

Abstract

Given the known detrimental effects of poor sleep on an array of psychological and physical health processes, it is critical to understand the factors that protect sleep, especially during times of stress when sleep particularly suffers. Positive affect (PA) arises as a variable of interest given its known associations with health and health behaviors and its ability to buffer stress. In 2 studies, we examined which types of PA (distinguished by arousal level and trait/state measurement) were most beneficial for sleep and whether these associations varied depending on the stress context. In Study 1, college students (N = 99) reported on their PA and sleep during the week of a major exam. In Study 2, 2 weeks of daily PA and sleep data were collected during a period with no examinations in a similar sample of students (N = 83). Results indicated that high trait vigor was tied to better sleep efficiency and quality, especially during high stress. Trait calm was generally unhelpful to sleep, and was related negatively to sleep duration. State calm, on the other hand, interacted with stress in Study 2 to predict more efficient day-to-day sleep on days with higher average stress. These findings illustrate the importance of considering arousal level, affect duration, and the stress context in studies of PA and health. (PsycINFO Database Record

Negative and positive affect as predictors of inflammation: Timing matters

“…For example, we were not able to examine associations with low arousal momentary PA (such as states of being calm or pleased) versus high arousal PA (e.g., excited) using our momentary measures. This is important because emerging evidence suggests that low arousal PA may be uniquely important for health (Jones, Graham-Engeland, Smyth, & Lehman, 2018; Pressman, Jenkins, Kraft-Feil, Rasmussen, & Scheier, 2017; Schwerdtfeger, Friedrich-Mai, & Gerteis, 2015). Further, variation in PA related to daily stressors has been associated with peripheral inflammation (Sin et al, 2015).…”

The Role of Affect on Physical Health Over Time: A Cross‐Lagged Panel Analysis Over 20 Years

“…Pressman et al. () found that vigour was associated with quality of sleep, whereas calmness was linked to less sleep. Hence, analysis of discrete affective states could provide more insight into the affective underpinnings between affect and health.…”

“…Previous research shows that, when modelled simultaneously, both positive and negative affect are associated with health (e.g. Pressman, Jenkins, Kraft‐Feil, Rasmussen, & Scheier, ), yet there is a need to investigate this relationship over longer periods of time.…”

Which Aspects of Positive Affect Are Related to Mortality? Results From a General Population Longitudinal Study

“…According to this view, positive affect items reflecting higher energy are in fact just markers of perceived health that are not controlled by baseline measures of physical health and fitness. For example, differences in positive energy may reflect differences in restorative behaviors such as sleep or even reflect not feeling physically well [45].…”