Adolescent sleep patterns are associated with the selection of positive and negative emotional situations

Sleep Disturbances and Delayed Sleep Timing are Associated with Greater Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Youth Following Hurricane Harvey

Sleep patterns following a natural disaster are associated with mental health difficulties, but research in youth samples has been limited to subjective reports of sleep. Participants (N = 68, 8-17 years old) completed an assessment 6-9 months after Hurricane Harvey, which included subjective measures of sleep, chronotype, hurricane-related post-traumatic stress symptoms, and one week of actigraphy. Prior to the hurricane, parents provided reports on emotional symptoms. Controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, participation time, and pre-hurricane emotional symptoms, subjective sleep disturbances and an eveningness chronotype were associated with greater post-traumatic stress, with the strongest effects observed for re-experiencing, negative cognitions/mood, and arousal/reactivity symptoms. Later sleep timing as measured by actigraphy was associated with greater arousal/reactivity symptoms and shorter sleep duration was associated with greater avoidance symptoms. As extreme weather-related events are expected to become more frequent and severe, these findings contribute to models of youth risk and resilience.

Daily Associations Between Adolescent Sleep and Socioemotional Experiences During an Ongoing Stressor

PURPOSE

Ongoing stress can result in sleep disturbances and daytime socioemotional difficulties. Data on how sleep and daytime socioemotional functioning may be bidirectionally related to one another in the midst of an ongoing stressor are limited, particularly during adolescence, a developmental period when risk for the onset of mental health difficulties and sleep disturbances is high.

METHODS

Participants (N = 459, ages of 13-18 years) were recruited from across the United States and completed an intake survey and one week of daily reports beginning 2 weeks after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency. Participants reported on their daily post-traumatic stress symptoms, positive and negative affect, loneliness, sleep onset difficulties, nightmares, sleep quality, and time in bed.

RESULTS

Lagged hierarchical linear models adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, medication use, medical conditions, and ongoing stressors were estimated to examine bidirectional associations between night-time sleep and next-day mental health. Poorer sleep quality and more nightmares at night predicted higher next-day negative affect, and greater daytime negative affect predicted lower sleep quality and a greater likelihood of having nightmares the following night. Poor sleep quality predicted greater next-day post-traumatic stress, which, in turn, predicted poorer sleep quality the following night and more difficulties falling asleep. Poor sleep quality and a longer time in bed also predicted greater next-day loneliness.

DISCUSSION

Overall, these findings provide insight into how sleep disturbances and socioemotional difficulties unfold during a major life stressor in an adolescent sample.

Sleepy and Secluded: Sleep Disturbances are Associated With Connectedness in Early Adolescent Social Networks

Studies in adults suggest that sleep disturbances predict poorer socioemotional skills and impaired social interactions. However, little is known regarding how sleep disturbances are associated with social processes during adolescence, a period when both sleep neurobiology and social relationships are undergoing dramatic developmental changes. The current study examined associations among sleep disturbances and peer connectedness in a sample of middle-school students (N = 213, 11-15 years old, 57% female) using a social network approach. Findings suggested that youth with greater sleep disturbances reported having fewer social connections, were rated as a social connection by fewer peers, and were less likely to have reciprocated nominations, even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and mental health symptoms.

Short-term and long-term associations with sleep onset latency in school children in Japan

BACKGROUND

This study aims to examine the relationships between sleep onset latency and multiple sleep-related factors of seventh and tenth graders during the transition from childhood to adolescence.

METHODS

Regarding sleep onset latency, we examined the short-term associations in Phase IV (2002) and long-term associations in Phase V (2005) of the Toyama Birth Cohort Study. In total, 4,673 boys and 4,694 girls in Phase IV and 2,969 boys and 3,108 girls in Phase V answered the questionnaire items regarding sleep, physical and mental health, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and family and school factors. Considering sleep onset latency as the outcome and 13 sleep-related factors as independent variables, we calculated the odds ratio using binary logistic regression. The longitudinal study was conducted with 1,703 boys and 1,919 girls whose sleep onset latency was within 30 min in Phase IV.

RESULTS

The following factors were found to be related to longer sleep onset latency in the short term: sleep duration, physical activity, game time, and self-esteem in boys and sleep duration, bedroom environment, game time, abdominal pain, long-standing illness, onset of puberty, mental health difficulties, and school avoidance feelings in girls. Regarding its long-term effects, having a single parent and self-esteem in boys and breakfast, game time, long-standing illness, obesity, onset of puberty, and school avoidance feelings in girls were associated with longer sleep onset latency.

CONCLUSIONS

Education of adolescent health and sleep hygiene at home and school should include both short-term and long-term associations between sleep and a healthy lifestyle by gender.