Eight hours of sleep.
This phrase has been drilled into the human brain for decades, and the importance of sleep is widely recognized. However, many individuals blindly accept this saying without pausing to consider why sleep is so important and what happens if we do not get enough sleep. While sleep restriction is associated with a plethora of negative repercussions, its consequences effect different age groups differently, as sleep is especially important for growing children.
Many researchers have studied the effects of sleep and attempted to answer these concerns, yet there exists a gap in research examining the effects of sleep on the younger generation. Adolescence is a period of great neurological, physical, and emotional changes, and is a pivotal time in the development of mood disorders (Booth et al. 2020 Nov 27). Individuals experience dramatic hormonal adaptions, while still struggling with self-regulation and rational decision making (Bonnie et al. 2019). These intense changes and the detrimental effects on mental health that can follow encouraged three Australian researchers and a professor from Brown University to investigate further. They recognized that sleep plays an important role in the developing mind, and developed an experimental study focused specifically on individuals aged fifteen to seventeen. This study served to analyze the relationship between sleep and mood in adolescents.
The study was conducted by observing thirty-four individuals, twenty of which were male and fourteen were female. All participants were aged between fifteen and seventeen years old. The individuals participated in screening prior to the study and were all deemed healthy. They did not take any medications, with the exception of birth control. The individuals spent ten days and nine nights in a sleep lab and were randomly split up into three different groups. Each group was restricted to either 5, 7.5, or 10 hours of sleep a night for five nights, with two baseline and two recovery nights in which they were allowed up to 10 hours of sleep. When awake, the participants reported their moods every three hours. During the day, the participants played board games, completed a variety of crafts, watched recorded movies, or socialized with each other. They were not allowed access to live TV or caffeine, and only were allowed to use their phones for 15 minutes a day.
The study found that participants in the 5-hour restricted sleep group experienced significantly more feelings of depression, anger, and confusion than either of the other groups. Additionally, participants felt less energetic in both the 5 and 7.5-hour groups than the 10 hour. Somewhat surprisingly, anxiety and fear show no significant changes within the groups. Finally, the two recovery sleeps were not enough to fully recover from the negative states for participants in the 5 hour group. Based on this information, the researchers concluded that insufficient sleep directly contributes to negative moods, most notably when sleep is restricted to less than 7.5 hours. However, even with 7.5 hours of sleep, many participants did not have enough energy, giving evidence that 8-10 hours is the ideal amount for growing and developing individuals to reap the most positive benefits of sleep on their mood.
This study was able to account for certain confounding factors, such as eliminating caffeine, monitoring screen time, and regulating other stressors that may hinder sleep and mood. However, one major issue with the study was the duration in the sleep lab. The lab attempted to emulate daily life, but there exists a large lifestyle change when teenagers are living in a sleep lab for then days as opposed to living in their home environments. Therefore, one could assume that the adolescents were experiencing overall more stress and negative emotions being in an unfamiliar environment for over a week, which could affect the emotions that they documented.
Ethically, the study also brings up a few concerns. The first is the concept of keeping minors in a lab without the supervision of their own parents. The participants were not allowed outside of the lab, and their time with their phones were heavily restricted. The lack of communication or contact with their guardians is potentially concerning, and important to be noted. Secondly, the study also did not elaborate on the privacy or legal agreements signed or approved by minors or their parents. While there exist regulations and rules that the study must have followed in order to be approved, more transparency would be ideal. This lack of transparency and the overall isolation of minors might cause parents to be wary of the study when reading it, or not entirely trust the legitimacy of the researchers or results.
This sleep study opens the door for other opportunities to supplement discussions and other research on the intersection of sleep and adolescence. In particular, this study can aid in the arguments that school start times are too early and cause negative and harmful effects in children and teenagers. One interesting aspect that can be analyzed more is the conclusion that the two ‘recovery’ nights were not enough to counteract the negative emotional effects of sleep restriction (Booth et al. 2020 Nov 27). Another study from 2016 looks at negative impacts of sleep on children’s school lives, and discovered similar findings that the weekend is not enough to make up for lack of sleep during the weekdays (Agostini et al. 2016). These results in conjunction can investigate how to improve adolescent sleep during the school week to improve mood and cognitive performance.
While this study leaves room for improvement, it is a strong step in the direction of exploring the effects of sleep on developing individuals. With more research on this topic, detrimental mood disorders and mental health conditions may possibly be prevented. The results of this study can help adolescents and their guardians take action to increase the amount of sleep they get during the average week, and not to rely on recovery periods over the weekends. With ongoing work to reveal the importance of sleep on development, the younger generation will be able to live happier and healthier lives than their predecessors.
References
Agostini A, Carskadon MA, Dorrian J, Coussens S, Short MA. 2016. An experimental study of adolescent sleep restriction during a simulated school week: changes in phase, sleep staging, performance and sleepiness. Journal of Sleep Research. 26(2):227–235. doi:10.1111/jsr.12473
Bonnie RJ, Backes EP, Alegria M, Diaz A, Brindis CD. 2019. Fulfilling the Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth. Journal of Adolescent Health. 65(4):440–442. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.07.018.
Booth SA, Carskadon MA, Young R, Short MA. 2020 Nov 27. Sleep Duration and Mood in Adolescents: An Experimental Study. Sleep. doi:10.1093/sleep/zsaa253.
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