Study: lack of sleep in childhood provokes psychosis

Scientists have found that there is a strong link between childhood sleep deprivation and psychotic disorders.

This is what researchers from the University of Birmingham have found: persistent lack of sleep in early childhood can provoke psychotic disorders* in later life. Results of the scientists' work published in JAMA Psychiatry.

How tells Neuro Science News, scientists analyzed information on the duration of night sleep of more than 12 thousand children aged 6 months to 7 years and the mental health of four thousand 24-year-old people. And they found that children who chronically had limited sleep were twice as likely to develop psychotic disorders and almost four times more likely to have psychotic episodes in early adulthood.

Lead study author Dr. Isabel Morales-Muñoz noted that the team could not prove a causal link between lack of sleep in childhood and psychosis in adulthood, but did establish that it is a contributing factor to the disorder:

“It is normal for children to suffer from sleep problems at various points during their childhood, but this can become a chronic problem. Chronic sleep deprivation may not be the only cause of psychosis in early adulthood, but is a predisposing factor in its development. We know that early intervention is really important to help young people with mental illness. Understanding the role that good sleep hygiene plays in positive mental health can be a really important part of this process.”

Previously, scientists concluded that just two nights of sleep deprivation can make people feel years older.

*Acute and transient psychotic disorders are a group of conditions with rapid development of symptoms: a person’s condition sharply worsens from several days to two weeks. It is characterized by a variety of affective (from depression to euphoria) and psychotic (delusions, hallucinations) symptoms, which are constantly changing.

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