Self-Regulatory Strength, Schmeichel and Baumeister

"In particular, self-control appears to get progressively worse the longer a person goes without sleep..."

This is true, from personal experience.

If self-control is really a limited resource, can it be manipulated? Can one control their own suppression, procrastination, and amounts of self-regulatory strength so as to perform at the maximum of their abilities?

I don't think that self-regulation is a limited resource, for three reasons:
1. It can be developed and grown, so it must not be firmly limited.
2. Some instances of extreme self-regulation occur out of the blue- when a large assignment is completed overnight, when a gossip must keep a secret.
3. It is possible- not easy or common, but possible- to live a life well-governed by the self, with good habits and a schedule and proper priorities.

"I have so much homework!"
"Don't even talk about it!"
Thought suppression is much harder because of our communities and lifestyles. We model ourselves and rely on those around us. Are our habits really shaped by anything other than our friends and peers? Or are we helpless, in a place where everyone else procrastinates too?

After reading the two articles on thought suppression, is thought suppression really self-regulation?
It seems to be more regulation of thought than of action. If thought is behavior, then suppression is self regulation; if thought and behavior are separate, suppression is not self regulation.
This ties into the regulation vs. control aspect. If self regulation is more automatic and self control more conscious, suppression would be self control, because it involves a conscious effort not to think of the certain action.

Self regulation is closely tied to the nervous system, and occasionally functions like a thermostat.
There are five basic "f" reactions to stressers:

• flight
• fight
• fright
• Fahrenheit
• sex

Self regulation is important in nearly every aspect of life. Many problems are a result of too little or too much self-regulation:

• Failure to self-regulate negative emotions may be one of the reasons for suicide.
• Failure to self-regulate physical desires results in infidelity.
• Failure to self-regulate motivation causes procrastination.

Self-regulation is also very important in childhood, and can be influenced by many things. If children develop a positive trust of the adults around them, they are often more patient, as in the marshmallow experiment. Their exposure to positive self-regulation, shown by their parents and teachers, can help them to form similar good habits. When children are not exposed to as many other children, or do not have this good influence, they can be more distrustful, and be less able to regulate themselves, with less impulse control.

On the other hand, children raised in stressful or lacking situations, like children in refugee camps, may grow up with an over-active sense of self-regulation, as a result of conserving resources for survival.

What is self-regulation?

• ability to stop yourself or motivate yourself for any particular task or trait
• ability to monitor actions
• decision making

Self-regulation often involves conscious decision making, but it can also be unconscious. Unconscious self-regulation can occur at any age, but is particularly evident in small children, before they become old enough to regulate their actions and processes consciously. Examples of these processes include eating and physical activity.

Whether or not self-regulation is unconscious, it can be influenced by many things. Surroundings, including social norms, family, and media, can all set or change the regulations to which we hold ourselves. 

Self-control can also be dangerous, when taken to an extreme. Eating disorders are examples of too much self-regulation, and indulgence of addictions is an example of too little self-regulation.