Mediating effect of cognitive appraisal on the relationship between sleep habits and stress responses among Japanese female college students.

Aizawa N, Omori M. Mediating effect of cognitive appraisal on the relationship between sleep habits and stress responses among Japanese female college students. BMC Psychol 9, 100 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00602-w

Commentary

In recent studies, it is often said that "evening" and "irregular" sleeping habits are related to physical and mental stress responses in female students. In this study, female students were examined to see if they could predict their stress responses by mediating their sleep habits and subjective cognitive evaluations.

They had 321 Japanese female university students participate and complete measures of sleep habits, cognitive appraisal of sleep habits, stress response, and control.

Results showed that 

commitment mediated the relationship between sleep patterns and anxiety, and that cognitive appraisal, as a whole, had a mediating effect on the relationship between sleep irregularity and depression.

Therefore, the content of the study was that it may predict sleep patterns and stressful situations such as depression and anxiety, which is only true for female students in Japan.

However, the results are not generalizable, which is typical of Japan, and it is unclear what to make of the results, as there are many variables in the self-reported sleep environment. The results are not generalizable, and there are many variables in the self-reported sleep environment, so it is unclear what the results can be used for. It may be used clinically as a reference, but it is not advisable to rely on the results.