# For parents of teens re sleep



## Ernest Nagel (Jan 2, 2010)

Certainly not definitive but pretty clear. I know kids like to stay up late but this caught my attention and I think it merits consideration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8435955.stm


*Late-night teens 'face greater depression risk'*

Teenagers need at least nine hours sleep a night, say experts

Going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, New York research suggests.

Of 15,500 12 to 18-year-olds studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before 2200.

And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.

It is estimated 80,000 UK children and young people have depression.

The researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York looked at data from 15,500 teenagers collected in the 1990s.

One in 15 of those studied were found to have depression.

Enough sleep, good food and regular exercise and all essential to stay emotionally healthy
Sarah Brennan, YoungMinds

As well as the higher risk of depression, those who were set a bedtime by their parents of after midnight were 20% more likely to think about suicide than those whose bedtime was 2200 or earlier.

Those who had less than five hours sleep a night were thought to have a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts compared with those who had eight hours of sleep.

Teenagers who reported they "usually get enough sleep" were 65% less likely to be depressed.

Depression and suicidal thoughts were also more likely in girls, older teenagers and in those who had a lower self-perception of how much parents care about them.

Most of the parents of the adolescents in the study set a bedtime of 2200 or earlier.

A quarter set a bedtime of 2400 or later.

On average the teenagers were having seven hours and 53 minutes sleep a night - less than the nine hours recommended at that age.

Study leader Dr James Gangwisch said although it it was possible that youngsters with depression struggle to sleep, the fact that parental set bedtimes were linked with depression suggests that a lack of sleep is somehow underpinning the development of the condition.

He said a lack of sleep could affect emotional brain responses and lead to moodiness that hindered the ability to cope with daily stresses.

This moodiness could affect judgment, concentration and impulse control.

Regular exercise

"Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression," he added.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive at the mental health charity YoungMinds, said: "Enough sleep, good food and regular exercise are all essential to stay emotionally healthy.

"Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer with depression, yet we are still failing to provide our young people with the help and support to cope with it and prevent it.

"Providing parents with information about how to look after your body, for example by getting enough sleep, and how to get help if they are worried about their teenager, will ensure problems are tackled early and prevent serious mental health conditions such as depression."


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## Dr. Feelgood (Jan 2, 2010)

I can't help wondering if this study isn't being reported the wrong way around. It makes it sound as if irregular sleep patterns _make_ teenagers depressed, but I wonder if disturbed sleep patterns aren't often a symptom of underlying depression? My wife has been suffering from clinical depression for about a year now: she's always been a night owl, but since the depression hit she's been going to bed later and later as well as sleeping less. Then, again, she isn't a teenager, so maybe none of this applies.


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## nonpython (Jan 3, 2010)

this is bullturds. I am 19, and I have not gone to sleep before 1 AM in more than a year and i am not depressed


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## Jes (Jan 3, 2010)

nonpython said:


> this is bullturds. I am 19, and I have not gone to sleep before 1 AM in more than a year and i am not depressed



well this isn't exactly an n=1 study, you know?


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## Miss Vickie (Jan 3, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> I can't help wondering if this study isn't being reported the wrong way around. It makes it sound as if irregular sleep patterns _make_ teenagers depressed, but I wonder if disturbed sleep patterns aren't often a symptom of underlying depression? My wife has been suffering from clinical depression for about a year now: she's always been a night owl, but since the depression hit she's been going to bed later and later as well as sleeping less. Then, again, she isn't a teenager, so maybe none of this applies.



You make an excellent point. Depression can often cause sleeplessness, and in teens it's exacerbated by less than optimal sleep patterns imposed on them by arbitrary school hours. I seem to remember from nursing school learning that it's more normal for teens to stay up late and get up late -- that that's what their bodies lean toward, naturally. Having them get up extremely early for school at 7:00 am pretty much guarantees that they won't get enough sleep. My daughter, who is 17, comes home from school and basically passes out for an hour or two, but if she had an after school job that wouldn't be an option.

I wonder. If we had kids start high school later each day, would that help?


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## thatgirl08 (Jan 12, 2010)

Re: starting later, yes, absolutely. I have heard the same thing about teenagers naturally leaning towards staying up later, and from my experience it's true. I find it hard to sleep before 11pm yet I had to get up at 6am at the latest to go to high school.. luckily, my mother was nice enough to drive me to school everyday or I would have had to get up even earlier. That's 7 hours of sleep.. and that's when everything works out ideally. Generally, I'd stay awake until midnight or 1am and on occasion, even later or possibly not at all. Then, by the time I would get home, I'd crash and take a nap.. which in turn would make it even harder to get into bed at or before 11. It's a vicious cycle, yet every year despite my best efforts, it'd continue. 

I suffered with depression for a good majority of middle and high school.. I wouldn't say that lack of sleep was THE cause, or even a major cause, but it certainly did not help matters. Since I've started college, I get way more sleep because I purposely designed my schedule in the fall so that I wouldn't need to get up before 8:30am. My mood (and anxiety/panic attacks) has gotten so much better but I just assumed it was because of other changes in my life that I had made (moving away from my mom, getting a job again, etc.) However, I'm now taking an intersession class and unfortunately the only class I could take was only offered at one time.. 9am-12pm so now my alarm goes off at 6:30am.. and even though it's only been a little more than a week.. I've noticed significant changes in my mood. First of all, I wake up angry everyday because I just hate getting up that early.. and I'm always exhausted.. this morning I could barely even drag myself out of bed because I slept maybe three hours last night.. and then when I got home from school I took a "nap" except it was 6 hours.. which is like almost an entire nights sleep.. and now, I'm online again past midnight.. the vicious cycle has begun again. Thank god this is temporary.. only 3 weeks total, but it still sucks. Constant exhaustion just naturally takes a toll on you. 

I think for teenagers it's made worst by lots of homework and part time jobs and other responsibilities.. I have pretty strong opinions regarding all that but that is probably a discussion for another time.

ETA: I have heard that depression can cause trouble with sleeping and I had a good friend who suffered with insomnia throughout middle school and ninth grade for that reason. For me personally, it was the opposite. When my depression was at its worse.. when I was 13 and 14, all I ever wanted to do was sleep.


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