Who Answers?
You may have heard that most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night, but what about children? Do kids need an early bedtime to make healthy decisions? According to some new research, sleep improvement in school-age children might positively affect their decisions in areas like using drugs and alcohol later in life.
Many parents struggle to get their kids to turn in on time with the hopes that a good night’s sleep will prepare them for the busy day of school to follow. Looking at the research, that may also help them avoid risky behaviors in adolescence and adulthood.
Data from over 1,500 children in various cities across the United States were studied as parents kept records of the times their kids went to bed. The children were 3, 5, and 9 years old, and the length of sleep was also recorded to verify how long the 5 and 9-year-olds typically slept. Drug and alcohol use was tracked in the children’s teenage years and the results were quite fascinating to the researchers.
The data showed a 45% increase in the likelihood that a child would try alcohol by the age of 15 if allowed a later bedtime routine. The stats from the children aged 9 were also interesting, as there didn’t appear to be a relationship between alcohol use at age 15 for the three and 5-year-olds concerning their bedtimes. Further, the report didn’t indicate the duration of sleep made a difference for ages 3 or 5 when it came to alcohol use.
Interestingly, the data showed an opposite correlation when it came to marijuana use rates by age 15. It seemed having a later bedtime at age five could be linked to a 26% increase in the chances of using the drug, and just one hour less of sleep per night at age 9 showed a rise of 19% in using marijuana at age 15.
Although there’s more research needed, and the study doesn’t prove causation, it clearly showed some strong associations between sleep and substance use. Bad sleep habits affect everyone in various ways, and for teens, those may be negative health consequences and poor decision-making, especially when it comes to using drugs and alcohol.
