Sleep away depression

Sleep away depression

According to new research, teenagers who don’t get enough sleep have an increased risk of depression and are more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

January 3, 2010 4:12 by kippreport

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but a good night’s sleep keeps depression at bay. That’s according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who found that teenagers going to bed after midnight were 24 percent more prone to depression than those who went to sleep before 10 pm.

The study, which analyzed data from 15,500 teens, also found that those teenagers sleeping less than five hours per night had a 48 percent higher chance of having suicidal thoughts than those who had eight hours of sleep. And teens who slept less than five hours a night had a 71 percent greater risk of suffering depression than those who slept eight hours.

James Gangwisch, the head of the study, said that sleeplessness could affect emotional brain responses, which in turn could hinder the ability to cope with stress. “Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression,” he said.

So teenagers are being advised to sleep more, and Kipp doesn’t think that’s fair; what about the rest of us?

Well the truth is doctors have always recommended regular and healthy sleeping patterns, with the guideline for most people being between seven and eight hours a night. So Kipp is making good sleep one of our New Year resolutions. Want to join us? We’re not sure if sleeping in the office counts, but we intend to find out.