title: Shortened sleep fuels inflammatory responses to marital conflict: Emotion regulation matters.
abstract: Sleep problems can boost inflammation and may jeopardize interpersonal functioning, risks that may be magnified in couples. This observational study examined the effects of self-reported recent sleep duration on couples' inflammation, inflammatory responses to a problem discussion, interpersonal behavior, and use of emotion regulation strategies (emotion expression, cognitive reappraisal) during conflict. People who slept less had higher stimulated interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) production after the marital problem discussion than those who slept more. However, using emotion expression and cognitive reappraisal strategies during conflict protected couples who slept less from inflammatory reactivity. Specifically, people's short sleep did not relate to inflammatory increases when they expressed their own feelings more or when their partner reappraised or expressed their emotions more. When both partners slept less, couples interacted in a more hostile way than when at least one partner slept more. These data point to the combination of short sleep and marital conflict as a novel path to heightened inflammation, a risk that partners' emotion regulation strategies may counteract. The study also highlights the role of short sleep in more negative or punishing marital behavior.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, United States. Electronic address: Stephanie.wilson2@osumc.edu.
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, United States.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Jaremka
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rice University, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Fagundes
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, United States.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Andridge
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, Division of Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, United States.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, United States; Department of Internal Medicine, OSUMC, United States.
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Malarkey
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, OSUMC, United States.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Habash
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Sciences, OSU, United States.
authors.forename: Martha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Belury
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, OSUMC, United States.
authors.forename: Janice K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kiecolt-Glaser
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D000068356:Self-Control; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Couples; Emotion regulation; Inflammation; Inflammatory response; Marital conflict; Sleep duration