ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Sleep Disorders
Enhancing Emotional Intelligence through Sleep Therapy in High-Stress Professionals: A Case-Control Study on Efficacy and Predictive Factors
Provisionally accepted
- 1Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- 2The Third People's Hospital of Bengbu, Bengbu, China
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Background: Sleep disturbances can significantly impair emotional intelligence (EI), particularly among professionals in high-stress occupations. This study evaluated the effectiveness of sleep therapy (ST) in enhancing EI and identified key predictors of therapeutic success. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 471 adults from high-stress professions who completed a 12-week intervention at Bengbu Third People's Hospital. Among them, 214 received psychoeducational treatment and 257 underwent sleep therapy. A case-control study was performed on the 257 sleep therapy patients. Pre- and post-treatment assessments measured EI components, sleep quality, psychological status, and physical health. Patients were stratified into high and low EI groups based on post-treatment EIS scores. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses identified predictors of EIS improvement. Results: Following the 12-week intervention, the ST group showed significantly greater improvement in total EIS score (60.87 vs. 58.39, P<0.001) compared to a psychoeducational therapy group. Multivariate analysis identified ST intervention (P<0.001) and higher adherence (P=0.002) as significant protective factors for EI, whereas increasing age was a risk factor (P=0.001). Compared to the low EI group, the high EI group demonstrated significantly better baseline adherence (70.7% vs. 52.6% full adherence, P=0.010), greater sleep improvement (ΔPSQI: 3.2 vs. 1.9, P<0.001), lower anxiety (SAS: 46.6 vs. 49.2, P=0.006), and higher self-esteem (SES: 31.8 vs. 30.4, P<0.001). Conclusion: Sleep therapy effectively enhances EI in high-stress professionals suffering from sleep disorders. Treatment efficacy is strongly influenced by adherence, baseline psychological and physical health status, and sleep quality improvements.
Keywords: sleep therapy, Emotional Intelligence, Sleep Disorders, Occupational Health, adherence, psychological assessment
Received: 29 May 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhai, Ji, Li and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qingfeng Du, f221111@163.com
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