title: Sleep loss increases dissociation and affects memory for emotional stimuli.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Because of their dreamlike character, authors have speculated about the role that the sleep-wake cycle plays in dissociative symptoms. We investigated whether sleep loss fuels dissociative symptoms and undermines cognitive efficiency, particularly memory functioning.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-six healthy undergraduate students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 28) and a control group (n = 28). The experimental group was deprived of sleep for 36 h in a sleep laboratory; the control group had a regular night of sleep. Sleepiness, mood, and dissociative symptoms were assessed 6 times in the experimental group (control group: 4 times). Several cognitive tasks were administered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sleep deprivation led to an increase in dissociative symptoms, which was mediated by levels of general distress. Feelings of sleepiness preceded an increase of dissociative symptoms and deterioration of mood. Finally, sleep loss also undermined memory of emotional material, especially in highly dissociative individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Limitations included moderate reliability of the mood scale, limited generalizability due to student sample, and a relatively short period of intensive sleep deprivation rather than lengthy but intermittent sleep loss, representative of a clinical population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that sleep deprivation had significant effects on dissociation, sleepiness, and mood. Specifically, sleepiness and dissociation increased during the night, while mood deteriorated. Our findings stress the importance of sleep deficiencies in the development of dissociative symptoms. They support the view that sleep disruptions fuel distress, but also degrade memory and attentional control. It is against this background that dissociative symptoms may arise.
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Dalena.vanheugten@ndcn.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Dalena
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van Heugten-van der Kloet
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Giesbrecht
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Merckelbach
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D012890:Sleep; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dissociative symptoms; Emotional memory; Executive functioning; Psychopathology; Sleep–wake cycle