Sleeping Less Than Five Hours May Increase Depression Risk

A new study suggests that consistently sleeping less than five hours each night may increase the risk of depression.

For decades, researchers have studied sleep problems as a side effect of poor mental health.

But an analysis of 7,000 participants concluded that poor sleep likely “predates depressive symptoms.”

Experts at University College London said evidence shows people who spend less than five hours a day are more likely to suffer.

“Using genetic predisposition to the condition, we determined that sleep is more likely to precede depressive symptoms rather than the other way around,” said lead author Odessa Hamilton.

The researchers used genetic and health data from 7,146 people who were over 60 years old on average.

The analysis was based on people’s genetic makeup, rather than how long they actually slept each night.

Over the past few years, sleep researchers have discovered that DNA abnormalities are associated with how long people sleep.

The results showed that people with a genetic predisposition to sleep less than five hours were 2.5 times more likely to develop symptoms of depression over the next 4 to 12 years.

Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep, children need nine to 13 hours.

The study was published in the journal Nature Translational Psychiatry.

Source: Daily Mail