Sleep - Every hour less per night for teenagers increases the risk of sadness, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts

Teenagers Who Don't Get Enough Sleep at Higher Risk for Mental Health Problems

Every hour less per night increases the risk of sadness, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts

The researchers surveyed an ethnically diverse sample of 27,939 suburban high school students in Virginia. Although teenagers need about nine hours of sleep a night on average, according to the National Institutes of Health, only 3 percent of students reported getting that amount, and 20 percent of participants indicated that they got five hours or less. The average amount reported was 6.5 hours every weekday night. After controlling for background variables such as family status and income, the researchers determined that each hour of lost sleep was associated with a 38 percent increase in the odds of feeling sad and #hopeless, a 42 percent increase in considering suicide, a 58 percent increase in #suicide attempts and a 23 percent increase in substance #abuse.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence February 2015