Anger tendencies and sleep: Poor anger control is associated with objectively measured sleep disruption

- Investigated whether trait anger linked to actual and self-reported sleep behavior.
- Trait anger predicted both actual and self-reported sleep behavior.
- Controlling angry emotions emerged as uniquely important for sleep.

This study investigated whether trait anger linked to actual sleep behavior and what anger tendencies play the most important role for particular aspects of sleep. Data from 436 adults in Midlife of the United States Study were used to link anger tendencies to both objectively (actigraphy) and subjectively (daily diary) assessed sleep across a week. Overall, individuals who had poor anger control also had worse objectively and subjectively measured sleep and these relations were robust to effects of gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, and stress. The findings tie actual sleep behavior to individual differences in anger, suggesting poor anger control plays the most important role, and add to the growing evidence that anger and sleep depend on each other.