Sleep-Deprived Teens More Likely to Binge Drink
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iStock/Thinkstock(POCATELLO, Idaho) — There have been plenty of studies about why teens should get eight-to-ten hours of sleep each night but research out of Idaho State University brings up a new reason: it could keep them from becoming problem drinkers.
Maria Wong, a psychologist at Idaho State University, says that youngsters aged 14-to-16 who don’t get the recommended amount of sleep were one-and-a-half times more likely to binge drink than their better-rested peers.
Furthermore, the study of 6,500 adolescents discovered that teens with sleeping issues were 14 percent more likely to drive while impaired and ten percent more likely to do the same when they reached college age.
Wong said sleep problems aren’t the sole determinant of alcohol abuse but they can predict later issues with alcohol.
On a positive note, Wong said every additional hour of sleep is accompanied by a ten percent decrease in binge drinking.
It’s estimated that close to half of teens fall short of getting eight-to-ten hours of shuteye each night.
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