Earlier bedtimes make for happy teens
Going earlier to bed make for happier teens and cuts down the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts.
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Going earlier to bed make for happier teens and cuts down the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts.
It's wrongly assumed that older adolescents don't need as much sleep as younger adolescents. Short sleep times and depression have been linked in both teens and adults and this relationship could be bidirectional - meaning getting too little sleep boosts depression risk, while being depressed makes it harder to sleep.
To examine the relationships between parental set bedtimes, sleep duration and depression, researchers looked at 15,659 seventh to twelfth class students. Fifty-four percent of parents said their son or daughter had to go to bed at 10 pm or earlier on school nights. Another 21 percent said their child's bedtime was 11 pm, while 25 percent allowed their children to go to bed at midnight or later. More than two-thirds of the adolescents said they went to bed when they were supposed to. Parents who were stricter about bedtime might have other qualities that could protect their child from depression. Therefore, the researchers asked adolescent participants how much their parents cared for them, and accounted for this in their analysis of the relationship between sleep duration and depression risk.
There was no link between whether a teen had a set bedtime and how much they felt their parents cared for them, but there was a strong relationship between bedtime and whether or not that teen felt he or she was getting enough sleep. Those with bedtimes at midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to be depressed, and 20 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts than teens who had to go to bed at 10 pm or earlier. Those who got five hours of sleep nightly or less were 71 more likely to be depressed, and 48 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts, than their peers who got at least eight hours of sleep a night. The participants who said they felt they usually got enough sleep were 65 percent less likely to be depressed and 29 percent likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who didn't feel they were sleeping enough.
The results from the study provide new evidence to strengthen the argument that short sleep duration could play a role in depression and that good sleep is beneficial for the overall health.
It's wrongly assumed that older adolescents don't need as much sleep as younger adolescents. Short sleep times and depression have been linked in both teens and adults and this relationship could be bidirectional - meaning getting too little sleep boosts depression risk, while being depressed makes it harder to sleep.
To examine the relationships between parental set bedtimes, sleep duration and depression, researchers looked at 15,659 seventh to twelfth class students. Fifty-four percent of parents said their son or daughter had to go to bed at 10 pm or earlier on school nights. Another 21 percent said their child's bedtime was 11 pm, while 25 percent allowed their children to go to bed at midnight or later. More than two-thirds of the adolescents said they went to bed when they were supposed to. Parents who were stricter about bedtime might have other qualities that could protect their child from depression. Therefore, the researchers asked adolescent participants how much their parents cared for them, and accounted for this in their analysis of the relationship between sleep duration and depression risk.
There was no link between whether a teen had a set bedtime and how much they felt their parents cared for them, but there was a strong relationship between bedtime and whether or not that teen felt he or she was getting enough sleep. Those with bedtimes at midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to be depressed, and 20 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts than teens who had to go to bed at 10 pm or earlier. Those who got five hours of sleep nightly or less were 71 more likely to be depressed, and 48 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts, than their peers who got at least eight hours of sleep a night. The participants who said they felt they usually got enough sleep were 65 percent less likely to be depressed and 29 percent likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who didn't feel they were sleeping enough.
The results from the study provide new evidence to strengthen the argument that short sleep duration could play a role in depression and that good sleep is beneficial for the overall health.
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