Sadly Awake: Short Sleep Duration and Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents

Background: Inappropriate sleep duration has been showed to be associated with increased suicidality among high school students in the United States. An association between inappropriate sleep duration and general depressive symptoms among this population has not been reported. Methods: The biennial Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System uses national and local school-based surveys to measure the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults. Students reported how many hours a night they get on an average school night and whether their daily routine was altered for two consecutive weeks due to sadness or hopelessness. We analyzed whether 8-10 hours of sleep was associated with depressive symptoms. Covariates included sex, race, BMI, bullying, abuse, smoking, alcohol use, and drug use. Results: Students who reported <8 or ≥ 10 hours of sleep had an odds ratio of 1.66(1.49, 1.86) of concurrent depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Routine adolescent depression surveillance may be enhanced by sleep duration assessments.