0180 Sex Differences in the Association between Mood and Actigraphic Sleep Variability in Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Poor mental health in adolescents has been linked to more variable sleep. However, most studies use self-reported measures of sleep. There is also a lack of research on sex differences in these associations, which is important given that poor emotional health is more common in female than male adolescents. The current study examined whether sleep variability measured through actigraphy was associated differently with self-reported mood in female versus male adolescents in between-person analyses. Methods Data were collected from a micro-longitudinal substudy of the age 15 wave of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Adolescents wore a wrist-actigraphy device and completed daily surveys for approximately one week (mean=5.6 actigraphy days; n range: 577-604 depending on the mood variable) where they reported levels of loneliness, happiness, excitement, and anger on a five-point Likert scale (0, not at all, to 4, extremely). Separate mixed models assessed whether sex moderated the association between mean mood and actigraphy-measured sleep variability measures including residual standard deviation (riSD) of sleep duration, onset, and offset; sleep regularity index (SRI), and social jetlag (|midpoint of sleep on school nights – midpoint of sleep on free nights|; n for social jetlag ranged from 363-376 depending on the mood variable). Results In both sexes, greater average happiness (β=−.11, p=.009) and excitement (β=−.11, p=006) were associated with less variability in sleep duration, and greater average excitement was associated with higher SRI (β=.13, p=.001). Male adolescents reporting greater average happiness and excitement had less variability (riSD) in sleep onset (happiness β=−.15, p=.008; excitement β=−.14, p=.016) and lower levels of social jetlag (happiness β=−.25, p<.001; excitement β=−.22, p=.005), but these associations were null in female adolescents (all p>.20). Neither loneliness nor anger were associated with sleep variability measures in either sex (all p>.15). Conclusion Greater positive moods are associated with lower sleep variability, which may protect mental and physical health. Boosting positive mood in adolescents may assist in normalizing sleep schedules, and decreasing sleep variability may aid in the maintenance of positive emotional health, particularly for males. Future research may use a within-participant design to examine the direction of these associations. Support (If Any) R01HD073352