Background: The present study aimed to examine the interconnections between chronotype, sleep quality, alcohol consumption and mental health, and the role of sex (male and female) on these...Show moreBackground: The present study aimed to examine the interconnections between chronotype, sleep quality, alcohol consumption and mental health, and the role of sex (male and female) on these connections. Previous studies have shown that evening chronotype is connected to poorer sleep quality, higher alcohol consumption and worse mental health. Yet, there is limited research on the interactions between all these variables and on the role of sex differences. The current study hypothesized the mediating role of alcohol between sleep and mental health, and the moderating role of sex and mental health. Methods: Quantitative data of a big participant sample (N=2165) from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA) was used. Participants derived from various settings and represented both healthy and clinical groups. Self-report measures were used, and mediation and moderation analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Results: Alcohol was not found to mediate the relationship between sleep and mental health. Sex differences were found in anxiety and alcohol consumption, with women scoring higher in both. Sex also acted as a moderator between sleep quality and depression, and sleep quality and anxiety. Mental health status was found to affect chronotype and sleep quality, with healthy individuals being morning chronotypes more frequently and reporting higher sleep quality. Conclusions: The results of the current study contribute to our understanding of the interactions between sleep, alcohol and mental health, underlining the role of sex and mental health. This knowledge can be used in designing more personalized and multidimensional treatments, improving the quality of psychological care.Show less
Research so far has shown that sleep is associated with and can predict suicidal ideation. One potential mediating variable in this relationship is mood, while studies have shown that mood is...Show moreResearch so far has shown that sleep is associated with and can predict suicidal ideation. One potential mediating variable in this relationship is mood, while studies have shown that mood is associated with both sleep and suicidal ideation. However, there is no known study so far on this topic. Therefore, the present single-case study aims at testing the mediation effect of mood on the relationship between sleep and short-term suicidal ideation using the Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) method. Both subjective and objective sleep quality measures were included. The study lasted 21 days, and the participant had to complete a short online questionnaire four times per day, administered on their phone. The questionnaire collected self-reported data on subjective sleep quality, mood, and suicidal ideation. Objective sleep quality was assessed using an actiwatch positioned on the participant's hand. Our hypotheses were that both objective and subjective poor sleep quality would lead to a subsequent decrease in positive mood over the day, which, in turn, would be associated with short-term (daily) increases in suicidal ideation. Two first-order autoregressive (AR[1]) multilevel models were developed, testing for each of the two sleep parameters separately. Statistical analyses revealed non-significant effects of both subjective and objective sleep quality on mood and suicidal ideation. However, results showed a significant effect of mood on suicidal ideation. This finding supports the importance of mood associations with suicidal ideation. We suggest that future research further explores the mediation effect of mood on the relationship between sleep and short-term suicidal ideation using larger samples and broader-item sleep scales.Show less
