Earlier bedtime protects youngsters against depression: study


Do you have teenaged child who sleeps late? If yes, its time to worry as a new study claims that adolescents who stay awake late at night are at a greater risk of suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts.

According to the study published in the journal Sleep, youngsters who go to bed early are significantly less likely to suffer from depression and think about committing suicide.

Lead author James E Gangwisch from Columbia University Medical Centre in New York said that the findings suggest earlier bedtimes could have a protective effect by lengthening sleep duration and increasing the likelihood of getting enough sleep.

“Our results are consistent with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression, working with other risk and protective factors through multiple possible causal pathways to the development of this mood disorder,” said Gangwisch.

He said, “Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression.”

Results show that adolescents with parental set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24 per cent more likely to suffer from depression and 20 per cent more likely to have suicidal ideation than those with parental set bedtimes of 10 PM or earlier, the research said.

This association was appreciably attenuated by self-reported sleep duration and the perception of getting enough sleep.

Adolescents who reported that they usually sleep for five or fewer hours per night were 71 per cent more likely to suffer from depression (OR=1.71) and 48 per cent more likely to think about committing suicide (OR=1.48) than those who reported getting eight hours of sleep at night, Gangwisch said.

He said, participants who reported that they “usually get enough sleep” were significantly less likely to suffer from depression (OR=0.35) and suicidal ideation (OR=0.71).

Data were collected from 15,659 adolescents and their parents who had participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health).

The authors also suggested that behavioural interventions that involve educating adolescents and their parents about healthier sleep hygiene practices and helping them modify maladaptive sleep habits could sever as primary preventative measures against depression and suicidal ideation.