October 3, 2023 – Getting into romantic relationships or breaking up can have a negative impact on teens' sleep habits, in line with a recent study.
Researchers on the University of Pennsylvania examined 7,000 Chinese students who were in seventh, eighth or tenth grade initially of the study. The teens filled out questionnaires about their romantic experiences over the past 12 months and their sleep patterns.
The study was published in Behavioral sleep medicine.
Researchers also recorded the teenagers' age, gender, smoking, alcohol consumption, family socioeconomic status, parental marital status and depressive symptoms.
The researchers found that insomnia increased by 41% in teens after they began a relationship; a 35% increase in the event that they had separated; and a forty five% increase in the event that they had each within the previous 12 months.
Then they interviewed the teenagers again a 12 months later.
“When the adolescents were re-examined a year later, it was found that those who had entered into a relationship were 61% more likely to develop new insomnia symptoms, and those who had experienced a breakup were 61% more likely to develop new insomnia symptoms 43% higher was symptoms,” PsyPost reported.
The researchers found that romantic relationships influenced sleep quality and quantity within the short term and a 12 months later. Stress, hormones and psychosocial development could also play a task.
Children under 15 appeared to have more problems. The girls did the identical.
“In particular, the results must be viewed through the lens of traditional Chinese culture. Involvement in relationships as an adolescent deviates from social norms and therefore the stress of entering or ending a relationship could be exacerbated and sleep problems could increase,” PsyPost wrote.
The study authors said more research is required to seek out out whether that is true in other cultures.
“The results suggest that SRR and breakups are associated with insomnia symptoms and short sleep duration, highlighting the importance of education about romantic relationships and managing romantic stress for healthy sleep, particularly among girls in their early teens,” they write Authors.