Abstract
Although poor sleep has been found to correlate with deteriorations in romantic relationships, its causal impact on interpersonal conflict has not previously been studied. Therefore, 30 couples were randomly assigned to either a single night of total sleep deprivation or a night of normal sleep to test the effects of sleep deprivation on couples’ conflict. After the experimental night, all participants discussed a topic of recurrent conflict for 15 min. We collected pre- and post-conflict measures of cortisol, self-reports of feelings, and satisfaction with the conflictual discussion. Multilevel analyses revealed higher cortisol levels during conflict and less positive affect prior to and after the conflict for sleep-deprived couples compared to couples in the control condition. These findings provide initial evidence for a causal negative impact of sleep deprivation on couples’ conflicts.
Highlights
During their lifetime, individuals face stressful situations in which the support of their romantic partner may be crucial
Data analysis of cortisol levels using multilevel linear models (MLMs) indicated that the best-fitting random effects structure was the one accounting for a random subject and random dyad intercept
MLMs indicated a trend in sleep-deprived couples for a negative relationship between satisfaction about the agreement and cortisol levels at T5, βz = − 0.07, p = 0.059
Summary
Individuals face stressful situations in which the support of their romantic partner may be crucial. Marital strain has been reliably linked to higher cortisol levels as well as to other negative consequences for physical health, including immune dysregulation, endocrine changes, and Handling Editor: Aric Prather. In line with this idea, a review has pointed out the role of sleep loss on diverse affective phenomena such as stress and emotions (Ben Simon et al, 2020), which in turn may have. Affective Science an impact on social interactions (Deza-Araujo et al, 2021; Van Kleef, 2009). Previous research has revealed associations between selfreported stress and aggression (Hennessy, 2008; Sprague et al, 2011) and between higher stressor induced cortisol levels and punishment behavior (Deza-Araujo et al, 2021)
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