Poor sleep in teens linked to anxiety and depression—negative thinking may be the key factor

Teens who sleep poorly may be at risk for anxiety and depression—repetitive negative thinking may explain why. This research was published in Clinical Psychological Science.

Sleep problems are common in teenagers, but their implications extend beyond mere fatigue. While research has established links between poor sleep and mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, the underlying mechanisms are unclear.

Cele Richardson and colleagues investigated whether repetitive negative thinking (RNT)—persistent, uncontrollable worry and rumination—might explain this connection. They hypothesized that poor sleep triggers RNT, which then exacerbates mental health symptoms.

The researchers followed 528 adolescents from the Risks to Adolescent Wellbeing Project in Sydney, Australia for 5 years. Participants, initially aged 10-12, were assessed annually until they reached 16-18 years old. Recruitment spanned schools, after-school programs, sports clubs, medical centers, and community groups.

Each year, participants completed online surveys measuring: 1) sleep patterns, including chronotype (morning/evening preference), hours of sleep on school nights, and frequency of daytime sleepiness; 2) repetitive negative thinking, distinguished between general RNT (throughout the day) and presleep RNT (before bedtime); and 3) mental health symptoms, covering generalized anxiety, social anxiety, depression, and eating disorders using validated psychological scales.

The results revealed that poor sleep contributed to increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in adolescents, with RNT serving as the critical mediating factor. Sleep problems predicted increases in both general and presleep RNT. This increased negative thinking pattern subsequently led to worsened mental health symptoms, and the effects persisted throughout the five-year study period.

Notably, while sleep disturbances predicted later mental health symptoms, the reverse relationship was not as consistently observed. This suggests that sleep problems may function as an early risk factor for social-emotional disorders rather than merely resulting from them.

Presleep RNT—worrying specifically before falling asleep—emerged as particularly significant in explaining the link between poor sleep and subsequent mental health issues. Adolescents with high levels of presleep RNT showed increased vulnerability to developing anxiety and depression.

The research relied on self-reported data, which may be less precise than objective sleep measurements like actigraphy (wearable devices that track sleep patterns). Additionally, the study assessed symptoms rather than clinical diagnoses of mental health disorders.

These findings highlight the potential value of addressing both sleep problems and repetitive negative thinking in adolescents as a preventative approach to mental health concerns.

The study, “Repetitive Negative Thinking Mediates the Relationship Between Sleep Disturbance and Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Depression, and Eating Disorders in Adolescence: Findings From a 5-Year Longitudinal Study,” was authored by Cele Richardson, Natasha R. Magson, Ella Oar, Jasmine Fardouly, Carly Johnco, Justin Freeman, and Ron M. Rapee.