Preliminary results from a new study suggest that there is a dose-response relationship between insufficient sleep and mental health symptoms in collegiate students, including varsity athletes.
Results show that in adjusted models, insufficient sleep was associated with all mental health variables, and a dose-response relationship resulted when insufficient sleep was treated as categorical. With every additional night of insufficient sleep, the risk of experiencing mental health symptoms increased on average by more than 20% – including an increased risk of 21% for depressed mood, 24% for hopelessness, 24% for anger, 25% for anxiety, 25% for desire to self-harm, 28% for functional problems, and 28% for suicide ideation.
“It was really surprising to see how strongly insufficient sleep was associated with a wide variety of mental health symptoms among college students,” said lead author Thea Ramsey, an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “Also, it was intriguing that while student-athletes experienced on average fewer nights of insufficient sleep and better mental health, the relationship between insufficient sleep and mental health was as strong or stronger in athletes compared to non-athletes.”
Read more at American Academy of Sleep Medicine