Psychological distress and trajectories of sleep duration among Australian adolescents: a prospective cohort study

This study investigated the association between indicators of psychological distress and well-being and trajectories of sleep duration among a cohort of Australian adolescents.

A prospective cohort of adolescents was followed over 27 weeks (8 November 2019-14 May 2020). Data on sleep duration and psychological distress were collected via smartphones, based on ecological momentary assessments.

Sydney population catchment, Australia.

Young people aged 13-19 years were recruited via social media (Instagram or Facebook).

Self-reported sleep duration in the past 24 hours. Sleep duration was dichotomised into 'less than 8 hours' and 'at least 8 hours', to represent those participants not meeting the recommended minimum amount of daily sleep.

Participants with high psychological distress had higher odds of sleeping less than 8 hours (OR 1.51 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.96)), compared with those with low psychological distress. Social media use (OR 1.34 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.79)) and longer periods spent on homework (OR 1.37, (95% CI 1.07 to 1.75)) were also associated with a sleep duration of less than 8 hours. Also, decreasing sleep trajectories were associated with increased psychological distress (β=0.069, (95% CI -0.010 to 0.149)) and increased homework hours (β=0.078 (95% CI 0.036 to 0.120)).

Findings highlight the adverse impact of psychological distress and high levels of social media use on sleep duration among adolescents. Longitudinal studies with longer follow-up periods are warranted to further explore the temporal associations between sleep duration and different health outcomes among varying populations.