A good night’s sleep may help adolescents thrive in school and with friends

A new UC Davis Health study published in Psychological Medicine suggests that when it comes to helping adolescents succeed in school and maintain healthy friendships, sleep may matter more than screen time, exercise or diet. This was particularly true for youth experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges.

Researchers examined how four lifestyle factors - sleep quality, screen time, physical activity and diet - influenced the relationship between mental health symptoms and academic and social functioning in children ages 10 to 13. They found that sleep was the strongest factor associated with better grades and fewer social problems. Screen time was the second strongest factor.

"This finding surprised us," said Jason Smucny, the study's first author and a computational neuroscientist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. "We expected sleep to be important, but we didn't expect it to stand out so clearly above other lifestyle factors, particularly screen time."

Mental health concerns can emerge in adolescence

Adolescence is a critical developmental period when mental health concerns often emerge. Globally, about one in seven adolescents experience a mental disorder, and depression and anxiety are the leading causes of illness and disability among young people.

"Parents, educators and clinicians understandably focus on symptoms like anxiety and depression," said senior author Tara Niendam, professor of psychiatry and executive director of the UC Davis Early Psychosis Programs. "But what often matters most to young people and their families is how those symptoms affect everyday life - how they perform in school, connect with friends and navigate daily challenges. This study suggests that sleep may be one pathway linking mental health to those real-world outcomes."

Better sleep may help youth with mental health problems

Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, researchers found that healthy lifestyle habits explained a substantial portion of the relationship between mental health symptoms and school performance.

Sleep was the strongest lifestyle factor linking mental health symptoms to lower grades, accounting for 18.5% of the association with depression, 36.3% with anxiety and 8.3% with psychotic-like disturbances.

Screen time was the second strongest lifestyle factor, accounting for 5% of the association with anxiety, 6.3% of the association with depression and 6.2% of the association with psychotic-like disturbances. Exercise and diet had smaller effects.

The researchers emphasize that healthy lifestyle habits are not a substitute for professional mental health care. However, the findings suggest that sleep may be an important and often overlooked target for helping young people experiencing mental health symptoms.

"What is encouraging is that sleep is something parents and families can address," Niendam said. "While it won't solve every mental health challenge, healthy sleep routines are a practical way to support a child's emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning."

Resources

• Read the study
• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
• Anxiety and Depression in Children (from the CDC)