Adolescents
whose parents set earlier bedtimes are significantly less likely to
suffer from depression or have suicidal thoughts compared to youngsters
who hit the sack later, new research indicates.
Youngsters in
the study whose parents set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24% more
likely to suffer from depression and 20% more apt to have thoughts of
suicide, compared to youngsters with bedtimes of 10 p.m. or earlier,
researchers report in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
This
suggests sufficient sleep may offer youngsters some protection from
depression and thoughts of suicide, the researchers say.
Adolescents
who reported they usually sleep five or fewer hours per night were 71%
more likely to report depression, and 48% more likely to have thoughts
of committing suicide, compared to young people reporting eight hours
of sleep nightly, the study shows.
"Our results are consistent
with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression,"
says study researcher James E. Gangwisch, PhD, of Columbia University
Medical Center in New York.
Source: WebMD
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20100101/earlier-bedtimes-may-fight-teen-depression?src=RSS_PUBLIC
