The Interwoven Triad: A Review of Sleep Quality, Cognitive Function, and Emotion Regulation

Background: The importance of sleep quality for neurobiological and psychological health is increasingly recognized in multidisciplinary research. Current findings indicate that sleep quality serves as a key mediator connecting advanced cognitive operations with emotional control, highlighting the need for a unified overview of these interrelated processes.Objective: This review seeks to combine current research to clarify the two-way connections between sleep quality, fundamental cognitive areas (attention, memory, executive function), and emotion regulation abilities, and to describe the common neural foundations that support these interactions.Methods: A narrative study was performed. Literature from ۲۰۰۰–۲۰۲۵ was gathered from PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science using search terms such as "sleep quality," "cognitive function," "emotion regulation," "prefrontal cortex," "amygdala," "sleep deprivation," and "neuroimaging." Selected studies included meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, longitudinal studies, and notable neuroimaging research.Results: Strong evidence indicates that inadequate sleep quality—including short duration, fragmentation, and disrupted sleep stages—significantly harms attention, memory formation, and all aspects of executive function. At the same time, it increases negative emotional responses, reduces positive emotions, and weakens the ability to control emotions consciously. Neurobiological research points to dysregulation in the prefrontal-amygdala circuit and impaired hippocampal activity as central explanations. These influences are bidirectional, creating harmful cycles that can contribute to mental health disorders.Conclusion: Sleep quality is a fundamental component of mental and brain health, inseparably connecting cognitive and emotional functioning. Sleep-focused interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), offer broad treatment potential for improving thinking skills and emotional well-being. Future studies should use long-term designs and examine factors related to individual differences.

کلیدواژه ها:

Sleep Architecture ، Prefrontal Cortex ، Amygdala ، Executive Function ، Emotional Reactivity ، Sleep Deprivation ، REM Sleep ، Slow-Wave Sleep ، Neurobiology ، Mental Health