Meldrum, R. C., & Restivo, E. (2014). The behavioral and health consequences of sleep deprivation among US high school students: Relative deprivation matters. Preventive Medicine, 63, 24-28.

More information

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate whether the strength of the association between sleep deprivation and negative behavioral and health outcomes varies according to the relative amount of sleep deprivation experienced by adolescents.

Methods

2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data of high school students (N=15,364) were analyzed. Associations were examined on weighted data using logistic regression. Twelve outcomes were examined, ranging from weapon carrying to obesity. The primary independent variable was a self-reported measure of average number of hours slept on school nights.

Results

Participants who reported deprivations in sleep were at an increased risk of a number of negative outcomes. However, this varied considerably across different degrees of sleep deprivation. For each of the outcomes considered, those who slept less than 5h were more likely to report negative outcomes (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.38 to 2.72; p<.05 across all models) relative to sleeping 8 or more hours. However, less extreme forms of sleep deprivation were, in many instances, unrelated to the outcomes considered.

Conclusions

Among U.S. high school students, deficits in sleep are significantly and substantively associated with a variety of negative outcomes, and this association is particularly pronounced for students achieving fewer than 5h of sleep at night.

MeSH Terms
    Adolescent
    Adolescent Behavior*
    Causality
    Comorbidity
    Female
    Health Surveys
    Humans
    Male
    Risk-Taking
    Sleep Deprivation/epidemiology*
    Socioeconomic Factors
    Students/statistics & numerical data*
    Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology
    Surveys and Questionnaires
    United States/epidemiology
    Violence/statistics & numerical data*
    Weapons/statistics & numerical data*
    Young Adult