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Regularity and Timing of Sleep Patterns and Behavioral Health Among Adolescents.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lunsford-Avery, JR; Wang, KW; Kollins, SH; Chung, RJ; Keller, C; Engelhard, MM
Published in: J Dev Behav Pediatr
May 1, 2022

OBJECTIVE: Sleep is vital to supporting adolescent behavioral health and functioning; however, sleep disturbances remain under-recognized and undertreated in many health care settings. One barrier is the complexity of sleep, which makes it difficult for providers to determine which aspects-beyond sleep duration-may be most important to assess and treat to support adolescent health. This study examined associations between 2 sleep indices (regularity and timing) and adolescent behavioral health and functioning over and above the impact of shortened/fragmented sleep. METHOD: Eighty-nine adolescents recruited from the community (mean age = 14.04, 45% female participants) completed 7 days/nights of actigraphy and, along with a parent/guardian, reported on behavioral health (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and psychosocial functioning. Stepwise linear regressions examined associations between sleep timing and regularity and behavioral/functional outcomes after accounting for shortened/fragmented sleep. RESULTS: Delayed sleep timing was associated with greater self-reported internalizing (F[6,82] = 11.57, p = 0.001) and externalizing (F[6,82] = 11.12, p = 0.001) symptoms after accounting for shortened/fragmented sleep. Irregular sleep was associated with greater self-reported and parent-reported externalizing symptoms (self: F[7,81] = 6.55, p = 0.01; parent: F[7,80] = 6.20, p = 0.01) and lower psychosocial functioning (self: F[7,81] = 6.03, p = 0.02; parent: F[7,78] = 3.99, p < 0.05) after accounting for both shortened/fragmented sleep and delayed sleep timing. CONCLUSION: Sleep regularity and timing may be critical for understanding the risk of poor behavioral health and functional deficits among adolescents and as prevention and intervention targets. Future work should focus on developing and evaluating convenient, low-cost, and effective methods for addressing delayed and/or irregular adolescent sleep patterns in real-world health care settings.

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Published In

J Dev Behav Pediatr

DOI

EISSN

1536-7312

Publication Date

May 1, 2022

Volume

43

Issue

4

Start / End Page

188 / 196

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Sleep Wake Disorders
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
  • Sleep
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Adolescent
  • Actigraphy
  • 52 Psychology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Lunsford-Avery, J. R., Wang, K. W., Kollins, S. H., Chung, R. J., Keller, C., & Engelhard, M. M. (2022). Regularity and Timing of Sleep Patterns and Behavioral Health Among Adolescents. J Dev Behav Pediatr, 43(4), 188–196. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000001013
Lunsford-Avery, Jessica R., Ke Will Wang, Scott H. Kollins, Richard J. Chung, Casey Keller, and Matthew M. Engelhard. “Regularity and Timing of Sleep Patterns and Behavioral Health Among Adolescents.J Dev Behav Pediatr 43, no. 4 (May 1, 2022): 188–96. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000001013.
Lunsford-Avery JR, Wang KW, Kollins SH, Chung RJ, Keller C, Engelhard MM. Regularity and Timing of Sleep Patterns and Behavioral Health Among Adolescents. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2022 May 1;43(4):188–96.
Lunsford-Avery, Jessica R., et al. “Regularity and Timing of Sleep Patterns and Behavioral Health Among Adolescents.J Dev Behav Pediatr, vol. 43, no. 4, May 2022, pp. 188–96. Pubmed, doi:10.1097/DBP.0000000000001013.
Lunsford-Avery JR, Wang KW, Kollins SH, Chung RJ, Keller C, Engelhard MM. Regularity and Timing of Sleep Patterns and Behavioral Health Among Adolescents. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2022 May 1;43(4):188–196.

Published In

J Dev Behav Pediatr

DOI

EISSN

1536-7312

Publication Date

May 1, 2022

Volume

43

Issue

4

Start / End Page

188 / 196

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Sleep Wake Disorders
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
  • Sleep
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • Adolescent
  • Actigraphy
  • 52 Psychology