Despite kids’ protests, enforcing early bedtimes may be good for their mental health. Teens who are allowed to go to bed later are more likely to suffer from depression—probably for the simple reason that they are not getting enough sleep, a recent study suggests.

Columbia University scientists found that depression was 24 percent more common in teens whose parents let them go to bed at midnight or later than in kids whose moms and dads required them to hit the pillow by 10 p.m. The night owls were also 20 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

Teens with bedtimes of midnight or later got an average of seven and a half hours of sleep, whereas those with a lights-out of 10 p.m. or earlier got an average of eight hours and 10 minutes. Although the association between later bedtimes and depression was greater before controlling for parents’ marital status and poverty level, it remained statistically significant after taking those things into ac­count—as well as teens’ perceptions of how much their parents cared about them.

The researchers looked at parent-enforced bedtimes—as opposed to simply logging hours slept—to rule out the possi­bility that depression was causing some kids to sleep less, rather than the other way around.

Earlier work supports the idea that too little sleep may lead to depression. Research at the University of London showed that children who suffer from insomnia are at increased risk of developing depression in their tweens and teens. And a University of Pittsburgh study of youth at risk for hereditary depression found that the one biological predictor of resilience—in other words, not getting de­pressed—was adequate sleep. Although too little sleep is unlikely to be solely responsible for a teen’s low mood, in those with a genetic or environmental predisposition sleep loss may raise risk and satisfying rest may be protective.

Recent studies at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the University of California, Berkeley, are starting to tease out why. During brain scans, sleep-deprived but otherwise healthy people showed increased activity in the amygdala (the brain’s emotional center) and decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex (an area that puts our experiences in context, and by extension, makes us rational)—the same changes seen in people who are depressed. In one army study, subjects started to show symptoms of depression, and the Berkeley subjects became more distressed than rested participants when confronted with upsetting images.

All these neurobiological effects may hit teens especially hard, says psychologist William D. “Scott” Killgore of Har­vard Medical School–affiliated McLean Hospital, a co-author of the army research. As teens cope with increasingly com­plicated daily life, they need more sleep than younger kids or adults, Killgore explains, and so “not getting enough sleep is especially problematic.”

This article was originally published with the title Less Sleep Linked to Blues in Teens.

8 Comments

1. 1. jtdwyer 04:17 PM 8/16/10

   It was unclear whether this study was an analysis of data collected from subject interviews or a controlled experiment. In a controlled experiment, those that are required to go to bed early and those allowed to stay up late would be randomly assigned.
   
   It's quite presumptuous to assume that parents have any real control over when teens get to sleep. Perhaps teens that can get to sleep early simply aren't depressed.
   
   If I recall correctly, I've read about studies indicating that teens have trouble getting to sleep, and are usually sleepy in the mornings at school, and don't do well on tests in the morning. If I recall, those studies indicated that those people who did not sleep well as teens got much better sleep once they got a bit older.
   
   All of these circular correlations may or may not even identify any actual causal factor... Perhaps all of these effects are the product of some hormonal changes! I wonder if rats of monkeys suffer similar effects as they grow from juveniles into adults...
   
   Perhaps getting to bed early won't really help sleep deprived, depressed teens at all - this bit of wisdom has never seemed to be effective in the past.

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2. 2. jtdwyer in reply to tiger14 06:43 PM 8/16/10

   I said; those darned teenagers just can't wake up in the morning!

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3. 3. praks22 03:25 AM 8/17/10

   I am 18 I follow early to bed and early to rise my lights-out are at around 10:30pm and gettin' up at around 5:30am. So jtdwyer you haven't seen the world yet and by the way which part of world are you from Mr.jtdwyer is it America??

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4. 4. jtdwyer in reply to praks22 08:21 AM 8/17/10

   praks22 - Well, good morning!
   
   I think you'll find that the studies mentioned here were likely all conducted using local students, U.S. Army veterans and other unidentified particular populations also not statistically representative of teenagers around the world.
   
   Generalizations I've drawn from my own youth and those that I've raised don't apply to everyone but, based on other studies I've seen apply to most.
   
   So, in my 60 years (as of Saturday), I have spent about a year in Europe and more than a year in Asia. I was born in Texas and grew up in Oklahoma and Kansas. I've traveled much of the USA since I moved here to Memphis 30 years ago, but I'm afraid my traveling days are pretty much over.
   
   In my experience most people are so attuned to their own surroundings that they don't appreciate just how diverse the world is. Perhaps that is changing with the saturation of the Earth and cellular networking, if only through homogenization.
   
   While experiences growing up in the USA varies for each individual - it's much different in other areas of the world, but there are certain generally common experiences for all. Best wishes to you in your life - Viva la Difference!

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5. 5. RedRoseAndy 02:39 AM 8/19/10

   Low Tech Insomnia Cure
   
   Insomnia can be cured with the use of an electric oil burning lamp heating household salt in water. (A candle heated oil burning lamp is not recommended for safety reasons.) The burner should be switched on in the bedroom half an hour before bedtime. The sleep that is attained is solid and refreshing. I got the idea one sleepless night. I remembered having a conversation with a World War 1 sailor. I had asked him what the point of having a night shift during a battle was when no one could sleep due to the noise. He replied that he put his dirty socks under his pillow at night and this somehow made him sleep better. I thought of the possible ingredients of a dirty sock that could keep him sleep in battle and decided to experiment with salt first. I was soon asleep, and for a long time. I have found that on the first night one is asleep for a long time as you are catching up on lack of sleep. Several more nights of breathing in artificial sea air and sleep patterns begin to return to normal, and a loud alarm clock is recommended.
   
   This explains why people sleep sounder at the coast when the wind is blowing in from the sea.

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6. 6. SherryS 09:34 PM 8/24/10

   I am disappointed that this article is titled "Less Sleep Linked to Blues in Teens". Depression and suicidal thinking are very different than the "blues". A reputable magazine such as this should acknowledge this scientific distinction. The headline is misleading and reinforces misconceptions about a very serious illness.

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7. 7. cecoxwell 06:28 PM 8/26/10

   I am 14 and normally go to bed at 11 or 12pm. I think teens now have such busy schedules. I don't get home from all my extra activities until 8. Then it is is time to eat dinner and do alllllllllllll the homework we get. Before you know it, it is midnight. Then getting up the next day at 5:30 to shower and get to school. I think our school time should be later. No one is up and ready to do biology or spanish 2 or algebra 2 at 7:30! But maybe this sleeping times explains why we are always so grouchy and cranky. But I always love my afternoon naps :)

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8. 8. MakeSnoww 07:31 AM 9/16/10

   If I read one more article about insomnia meaning depression I'm going to kill myself (not actually though).

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