- Academics at the University of Birmingham have found that children who consistently experience poor sleep during their early years face a significantly heightened risk of developing depression as teenagers.
- The research revealed that children aged between six months and seven years with "persistent" shorter sleep were almost twice as likely to report high levels of depression that persist between the ages of 13 and 22.
- The study involved an extensive examination of data from over 15,000 children who participated in the long-running Children Of The 90s study, meticulously recording nighttime sleep duration and subsequent self-reported depression symptoms.
- Parents are being urged to actively support better sleep patterns in young children, as sleep is considered a "modifiable factor" and addressing poor sleep in early childhood is considerably easier than treating complex emotional symptoms later in life.
- Measures to improve childhood sleep include implementing earlier and consistent bedtimes, reducing screen time before bed, encouraging physical activity, and creating a calm sleep environment, with researchers suggesting improvements in sleep behaviour may interrupt potential long-term mental health difficulties.
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Poor childhood sleep doubles risk of teenage depression, study warns
