New research from US universities shows sleeping longer at weekends could reduce the risk of depression among teenagers.
The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, revealed young people aged between 16 and 24 who caught up on sleep at weekends had a 41% lower risk of experiencing symptoms of depression, compared with those who did not.
To conduct the study, researchers from the University of Oregon and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University analysed data from the 2021 to 2023 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
It’s recommended young people get between eight and 10 hours of sleep a night. However, researchers said this is often unrealistic for many young people in the US because of competing demands such as school, extra curricular activities and part-time work.
Melynda Casement, a licensed psychologist and associate professor at the University of Oregon, said: ‘Sleep researchers and clinicians have long recommended that adolescents get eight to 10 hours of sleep at a regular time every day of the week, but that’s just not practical for a lot of adolescents, or people generally.’
She added that while consistent sleep remains ideal, weekend lie-ins may still offer some benefits.
‘It’s normal for teens to be night owls, so let them catch up on sleep on weekends if they can’t get enough sleep during the week because that’s likely to be somewhat protective,’ Casement continued.
Within the study, participants recorded their usual bedtimes and wake-ups on weekdays and weekends. From this, researchers calculated weekend catch-up sleep by comparing average sleep duration across the week.
Respondents were classified as having symptoms of depression if they reported feeling sad or depressed every day.
The researchers said changes in sleep patterns during adolescence play a key role. Circadian rhythms – essentially your ‘body clock’ – shift during teenage years, making it harder to fall asleep early.
‘Instead of being a morning lark you’re going to become more of a night owl,’ Casement explained. ‘And sleep onset keeps progressively delaying in adolescence until age 18 to 20. After that, you start becoming more morning larkish again.’
According to the study, teenagers typically fall asleep around 11pm and wake at 8am, a schedule that clashes with early school start times. With this in mind, sleep experts have argued for later school starts.
Depression is one of the leading causes of disability among 16- to 24-year-olds, Casement said, making the findings particularly significant.
She said: ‘It makes that age range of particular interest in trying to understand risk factors for depression and how those might relate to delivery interventions.’
Health guidelines
While the findings of this study are important, young people shouldn’t solely rely on catching up with sleep during weekends.
According to the NHS, teenagers should aim for between eight to 10 hours of sleep per night to maintain good physical and mental health.
Some of the problems caused by poor sleep include:
- Stress
- Difficulty concentrating
- Exhaustion
- High blood pressure
- Mood swings
- Weakened immunity
- Being more accident prone
- Increased risk of obesity
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