SLEEPDEPRIVATIONAND ITSIMPACT ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING ANDEMOTIONALREGULATIONINPAKISTANIADULTSWITH GENERALIZEDANXIETYDISORDER

Abstract

This paper investigated the association between sleep deprivation, cognitive functioning, and emotional regulation in Pakistani adults likely suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The study paid special attention to the mediating role of cognitive functioning. Data were collected from an estimated sampleof200adultsaged18andabovethroughpurposivesampling,usingaquantitative, cross-sectional correlational design. Standardized tools such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) were utilized. The findings revealed that sleep deprivation had a significant positive correlation with cognitive failures and maladaptiveemotionalregulationstrategies, particularlyexpressivesuppression. Conversely, itshoweda negative correlation with adaptive strategies like cognitive reappraisal (p < .05). Regression analyses identified cognitive impairment and emotional regulation outcomes as significant predictors of sleep deprivation. Mediation analysis further demonstrated that sleep deprivation and emotional regulation strategies are significantly related, with cognitive functioning acting as a mediator. These results suggest thatpoorsleepimpactsexecutivefunctioning,whichsubsequentlyleadstoemotionalregulationdifficulties among GAD patients. The paper highlights the need for sleep-focused interventions in anxiety treatment and provides culturally relevant empirical findings, as such studies are scarce in the Pakistani context.