Does sleeping more lower the risk of depression in teens?

By Irada Yunusova

High school and college students are notorious for late night cramming. With the widespread availability of cell phones, MP3 players and television, the list of reasons to stay up seems to continuously grow. However, according to recent studies, staying up late and getting less hours of sleep can be harmful to an individual's mental health.

Data from a study of 15, 659 teens and their parents indicates that adolescents are significantly less likely to suffer from depression or have suicidal thoughts when their parents set earlier bedtimes as compared to teens who go to bed at midnight or later. Adolescents who stayed up until midnight or later were 24% more likely to suffer from depression and 20% more likely to have suicidal thoughts than individuals with bed times of 10 pm or earlier. Also, teens who usually slept five hours or fewer per night were 71% more likely to report depression and 48% more likely to have suicidal thoughts than individuals who slept eight hours per night. Although it is recommended that individuals have nine hours of sleep per night, the teens in this study had an average of only seven hours and 53 minutes of sleep. 

The researchers of this study recommended that parent set earlier bedtimes for their adolescents. Although staying up to see a movie or to study for an exam may seem important at the time, research suggests that sleeping less than the recommended amount can be dangerous to one's health. 

References: "Early to Bed." Web MD magazine. May 2010.