# A Closer Look at the Sleep/Wake Habits and Dark Triad Traits
## 1 Introduction  
The Dark Triad (DT) is a constellation of three aversive psychological traits: Machiavellianism (the ability to manipulate others to reach power), psychopathy (the tendency to behave in an antisocial way and to lack empathy), and narcissism (an inflated sense of self and a huge need for admiration) [1]. Although psychopathy and narcissism are considered as personality disorders in the DSM-5-TR [2], what is employed here are rather subclinical traits which are present across a wider range of communities. It is assumed that narcissism is linked with feelings of entitlement, grandiosity, superiority, and dominance, which are found to be socially aversive by others [3]. Psychopathy is characterized by impulsivity and thrill-seeking accompanied with low empathy for others [4]. Machiavellianism, although it has never been seen as a mental health diagnosis, exhibits tendencies toward being cynical, unprincipled, and manipulative [5]. The DT is considered as a group of these socially callous characteristics linked with a bunch of undesired accompanying traits. The overlapping of the members of the DT has recently been supported, and it is hypothesized that \"antagonism\" might be the core of DT-related traits [6]. The Composite DT was earlier associated with bullying behavior [7], a higher tendency to engage in animal cruelty [8], an increased propensity to lie [9], substance use [10], a poorer quality of life [11], emotional dysregulation [12], and increased sleep disturbances [13]. Sleep is a vital function by which the body regains the energy for activity and serves as an essential element to both physical and mental health. A plethora of studies have evidenced the link between personality traits and emotional stability and the quality of sleep. For instance, one study [14] investigated the association between sleep disturbances, the Big Five, and emotional intelligence. It revealed that higher grades of emotional intelligence and conscientiousness were associated with fewer sleep complaints, and those who graded high in terms of neuroticism and openness to experience reported greater sleep complaints and insomnia symptoms. A longitudinal study [15] found out that lower scores for neuroticism and higher scores for extraversion and conscientiousness were related to better sleep quality at baseline and over time. Another study [16] reported a significant positiverelationship between impulsivity and poor sleep in an inpatient sample. Some other studies also reported that eveningness and shorter sleep duration (in a mixed-gender sample), along with later sleep timing (in an only female sample), were related to less restricted socioeconomicity [17; 18], and DT traits appear to be stronger in those with higher sociosexuality [19]. Some facets of the DT traits have been reported to be linked with emotional dysregulation. For instance, the exploitation/entitlement facet of narcissism was associated with impulse control difficulties and access-to-emotion regulation strategies [20; 21]. In addition, spitefulness, as the callus aspect of psychopathy and Machiavellianism, seemed to be positively related to some facets of emotional dysregulation [21]. Assessing the link between DT traits and emotional dysregulations with two different measures of the DT also revealed positive correlations for all DT members with difficulties in terms of emotional regulation, as assessed by both measures of the Dark Triad [22]. Among people with higher grades of DT, having problems with emotional regulation might also trigger sleep problems. In an attempt to find the underlying potential mediators in the relationship between sleep and emotional regulation, psychopathy emerged as the only mediator that was associated with greater emotional dysregulation, and an inability to regulate emotions subsequently eventuates in worsened sleep quality [22]. As emphasized by [23], there is a reciprocal relationship between sleep and emotional regulation.