Now I do think that people should get a good night's sleep, but the historian in me thinks that even though a lot of money was obviously spent on this survey that the results are questionable! Why do you think that I have my doubts about their conclusions?
Going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression, New York research suggests.
Of 15,500 12 to 18-year-olds studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before 2200.
And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.
It is estimated 80,000 UK children and young people have depression.
The researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York looked at data from 15,500 teenagers collected in the 1990s. One in 15 of those studied were found to have depression.
It might be true in some cases, but poor sleeping habits can also be a symptom of depression. So, I would argue that their conclusions are questionable because they have only considered lack of sleep as a factor which causes depression, and seem to have ignored that these poor sleeping habits may actually be the result of depression.
ReplyDeleteSnap Jess! That is exactly what I though too! Wouldn't depressed people be the most likely people to be up late and unable to sleep?
ReplyDeleteIt seems another case of being after a certain answer and making the data fit your thesis.
It would be great to know who funded the study. Could it possibly be a sleeping tablet manufacturer after a younger market?? Create a fear and then sell a product to get rid of it.