Research

Mixed

Shorter self-reported sleep duration is linearly associated with prevalent and persistent psychological distress in young adults, with each hour less of sleep increasing the risk of distress persistence.

If you are a young adult (17-24) struggling with persistent low mood or anxiety, your sleep duration matters significantly. Each hour of sleep you lose increases your risk of maintaining that distress. Prioritize getting 8-9 hours of sleep, as this is the reference range associated with the lowest risk of psychological distress in this demographic.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Shorter sleep duration was linearly associated with prevalent psychological distress: relative risk (RR) 1.14 (95%CI 1.12 to 1.15)... Each hour less of sleep increased the risk of psychological distress persisting after adjustment for potential confounding variables: RR 1.05 (95%CI 1.01 to 1.10).
Nick Glozier et al. · SLEEP · 2010

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort study (n=20,822 baseline, n=2,937 follow-up) with rigorous adjustment for confounders.

Source

Short Sleep Duration in Prevalent and Persistent Psychological Distress in Young Adults: The DRIVE Study

Nick Glozier et al. · SLEEP · 2010

DOI 10.1093/sleep/33.9.1139

cohort · n=20822Cited 180×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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