Meta-Analysis: The Impact of Work Burnout and Sleep Disturbance on Emotional Regulation in Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

This meta-analytic review synthesizes empirical evidence published between 2015 and 2025 on the relationship between occupational burnout, sleep disturbance, and emotional regulation among healthcare professionals. Twenty-four eligible studies, including three prior meta-analyses, were examined. Using a random-effects model, pooled correlation coefficients indicated a moderate positive association between burnout and sleep disturbance (r = 0.34, 95% CI [0.27, 0.41]) and a negative association between adaptive emotion regulation and burnout (r = –0.29, 95% CI [–0.37, –0.22]). Heterogeneity was moderate across analyses (I² = 52%). Sleep disturbance mediated the relationship between burnout and emotional dysregulation in several longitudinal studies. The findings suggest that burnout and sleep disturbance reinforce each other, with maladaptive emotion-regulation strategies functioning as both risk factors and outcomes.