Sleep deprivation is a crucial component of the rise of mental health issues among youth.

Question

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-07-22/mental-health-sleep-deprivation-teens

Only 20% of high schoolers are getting adequate sleep at night. Furthermore, there is evidence that this lack of sleep is linked to depression, anxiety, and even suicide rates. It also is related to lack of judgement and impulsive tendencies, and it is important to modify one's behavior to improve their sleeping habits.

Comments

I agree that many young individuals who are sleep deprived have more impact on their mental health which affects their performance in their academics, work setting, and overall lifestyle. Your body can't function well when your body isn't fully rested, which can cause mood swings and lack of concentration. If they are already struggling with certain disorders, then this makes it more stressful for them.

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Yes this makes sense for lack of sleep to be the cause of mental health issues rising for teens. Many teens stay up much later than they have to because of distractions, like phones, or other issues. But a main issue are the phones, this is causing teens to stay up and lose the crucial sleeping hours they need to be able to function properly and efficiently. I have noticed at times where i have not gotten enough sleep over a period of time, I am a lot more grumpier, lazy, unmotivated, look and feel worse, and just dont feel good in general. Once you realize how much rest actually effects your life, its much easier to put down those distractions so that you can benefit more. Especially as teens, its hard to accept that and be aware of it to make that difference, but it would definitely help with the rise of mental health.

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This is a valid and great post. It is true that teenagers who are sleep deprived have a decreasing mental-health due to not getting the rest their body and mind needs as growing individuals. If they were already having a hard time with different mental illnesses it can cause a more stress induced time for them because of not sleeping.

Answer 1

The claim of the LA Times article is that getting efficient sleep would benefit teenagers’ mental health and improve their decision-making. The LA Times is a considerably reliable source, although in this article they comment and connect on other studies rather than publishing their own. While they do fail to properly reference the numerous sources they use in their article, statistics about alarming mental health from a study done by the CDC, along with the inclusion of a sleep-focused MD’s opinion on the subject, are few of the vast number of sources they link to.

A further investigation on the subject reveals a separate CDC article focused on the dangers behind lack of sleep specifically. The data in that article is consistent with the claim. Another source from the National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit organization, in 2023 bases its own studies on the effects of sleep deprivation, tying closely with the symptoms the CDC has also exposed. The main claim of the article seems to be true!

Cited Sources:

Lewis, Lisa L. “Op-Ed: Sleep Deprivation Is an Important Part of Our Youth Mental Health Crisis.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2022, www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-07-22/mental-health-sleep-deprivation-teens.

Jones, Sherry Everett, et al. “Mental Health, Suicidality, and Connectedness among High School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic - Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 Mar. 2022, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7103a3.htm#:~:text=More%20than%20one%20in%20three,12%20months%20before%20the%20survey.

“Maida Lynn Chen, MD.” Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle Children’s, www.seattlechildrens.org/directory/maida-lynn-chen/. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

“FastStats: Sleep in High School Students.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 May 2024, www.cdc.gov/sleep/data-research/facts-stats/high-school-students-sleep-facts-and-stats.html.

2023 Sleep in America Poll, National Sleep Foundation, 9 Mar. 2023, www.thensf.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/NSF-2023-Sleep-in-America-Poll-Report.pdf. 

Answer 2

This claim is 100% valid and draws from a reliable source in the latimes. I think when looking at the rise of mental health issues in youth it's also important to note the various factors that contribute to a sleep deprivation and a lack of a consistent sleep schedule. Teenagers and children have grown up constantly on their phones, lowering their attention span and causing increased risk of lack of sleep. 90% of included studies in a literature review found an association between screen time and delayed bedtime or decreased total sleep. Going to bed on time gives our bodies a chance to rest and recover, however, often teenagers are so glued to their phone and doom scrolling that they forget to put it down to go to bed.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5839336/#:~:text=Summary,and%20the%20majority%20of%20adolescents.&text=In%20a%20recent%20literature%20review,or%20decreased%20total%20sleep%20time.&text=Proposed%20mechanisms%20include%20displacement%20of,exposure%2C%20and%20increased%20physiological%20alertness.&text=This%20pervasive%20phenomenon%20of%20pediatric,to%20foster%20healthy%20sleep%20habits.

Comments

I really like the way you turned this around onto phone usage and doom scrolling. I think this plays an important role in both sleep deprivation and mental health issues combined and this helped me to connect the dots.

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The link between screen time and sleep problems is super important, especially since 90% of studies show they’re connected. One idea to make it even better is to explain how blue light from screens can mess with melatonin levels. But I like how your articles support your statement very well.

Answer 3

This is a true claim that is backed not only by the reputable source offered in the post but by other studies. According to "Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic" by Stanford Medicine, teens need at least 5 hours of sleep and even then can show signs of sleep deprivation. There are multiple factors contributing to a lack of sleep, from school work to social pressures. A lack of sleep can impact their control and the way they experience their emotions. 

Comments

This is a good fact-check! I appreciate the way you included your research from Stanford Medicine.

Answer 4

This claim is true and readers can trust that it is fact-checked as the LA Times is a known and reliable source. Additionally, there are many other reports for example the Surgeon General's Health Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. In his research, Dr. Vivek Murthy explains that children who spend increased time on social media get less sleep and have higher rates of depression and anxiety.

Comments

The LA Times piece is an opinion article. It's best to gather several sources to confirm that the claim/source claim is accurate. Thanks!

Answer 5

This claim is true and can be backed by research. According to the National Library of Medicine, an online library filled with factual journal articles, sleep deprivation in adolescents is correlated with mental health issues in young adults. The research provided proves this claim and provides logical evidence to support the LA Times article.

Excerpt: " In fact, insomnia in the general teenage population is associated with mental health difficulties later in life and increased risk of interpersonal problems and psychiatric disturbances, which may include mood and anxiety disorders, risk-taking behaviors, substance use disorders, and higher suicidal risk [15,16,17]"

Article: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10136689/#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20insomnia%20in%20the,15%2C16%2C17%5D.

Answer 6

This claim has evidence to support it and is appropriately calling out causes and effects. I found multiple articles that neatly illustrate the steps in the argument. Firstly, according to the CDC in this article, more than two-thirds of students are not getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night; according to this article from the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, teenagers ages 13 to 18 should sleep 8 to 10 hours per day. Finally, this article from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine details the effects that this can have on a person, stating, "insufficient sleep in teenagers has been found to increase the risk of depression and is associated with increased risk of self-harm, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts".

Comments

Finding that the CDC has an article about this topic was a really good source of evidence. Also explaining what the CDC article was about, you simplified and summarized really well. I also think it was great that you included a quote, that really helps.

Answer 7

The claim that sleep deprivation is increasing mental health issues is true and refers to reliable and credible sources, such as the LA Times article. However, one source within the article used to provide a statistic on Mental Health among teens during COVID is leveraged to strengthen their claim on sleep deprivation. However, the actual research report links the rise in suicidality to feelings of connectedness during the pandemic, not sleep deprivation. Nonetheless, the rest of the article and the sources that were used to support their argument are valid. While there are many factors that may affect mental health, sleeping habits are an apparent influence. For teens especially, sleep is crucial to reset the body and let the mind rest. Furthermore, peer reviewed research conducted by Uccella et al. (2023) states that poor sleep may cause cognitive impairment and poor decision making, which can encourage behaviors that further lead to mental health issues.

Answer 8

This claim is true as the LA Times is considered a credible source and there was a recent study done by the PMC saying that there is an association between depression and sleep deprivation in teenagers. One thing that it noted was that in 50% of teenagers with sleep insomnia, they are likely to develop psychiatric disorders.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3900610/

Answer 9

Sleeping is a big factor played in everyone life. Many people do not get enough sleep to be able to continue on to the next day. High schooler's have a set schedule requiring them to wake up at early hours and depending on the amount of sleep they got the night before can affect their emotions the following day. Studies show that decrease in sleep can increase negative emotions and mental health issues. Young students are more likely to not get the full amount of sleep needed because of the regular school schedule and the amount of homework provided. According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need between eight and 10 hours of sleep each night, but only 15 percent are even getting close to that amount. During the school week, most teens only get about six hours of zzz’s a night, and some of that sleep deficit may be attributed to homework. Therefore this claim is true.

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/for-parents/articles/2018-03-20/how-much-homework-is-too-much-for-our-teens

https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/how-sleep-deprivation-affects-your-mental-health

https://vailhealthfoundation.org/news/sweet-dreams-sleep-awareness-week-march-12-18/?msclkid=0f2f0a236d5f11ee843e6dbbf8778ec3&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=VHF%20-%20News%20(National)&utm_term=sleep%20deprivation%20effects&utm_content=Effects%20Of%20Sleep%20Deprivation#:~:text=The%20Effects%20of%20Sleep%20Deprivation

Answer 10

This claim has reasonable evidence to back it up that makes it true. In the article linked, it states that "research indicates that sleep deprivation and suicidality have a dose-response relationship". There is plenty of research that proves this statement is true. For example, according to the NIH, a credible U.S. gov website, it says that sleep deficiency has been linked with mental health depression, suicide, and risky behavior because the lack of sleep affects the way you control your behavior, emotions, decision-making, and solving problems. 

This evidence leads to the fact that getting good sleep is crucial to your brain and if teens are not getting adequate sleep, it can disrupt their mental health and behavior. The article I have linked also discusses the ways that getting the right amount of sleep can improve your mental health and therefore improve your overall well-being and health. I can also testify to this as I experience the fact that when I get more sleep I tend to function better and have better feelings. 

“How Sleep Affects Your Health.” National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation/health-effects. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.