In the new ‘Best evidence in brief‘ an interesting piece of research on the link between healthy relations and sleep:

 What has the largest influence on teens’ sleep habits? A study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviors explored this topic and found that social factors (e.g., relationships with parents and peers) outperform developmental factors (e.g., the timing of puberty and resultant drops in melatonin) in determining teens’ sleep patterns.

The study draws from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), a longitudinal study of children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. The sample was 974 teens who reported on their own sleep habits at ages 12 and 15. The teens also reported on social ties (e.g., parental support and peer relationships), academic demands, and daily schedules, and their mothers reported on family structure and children’s physical development.

Findings showed that as children age from sixth grade to age 15, sleep duration on a school night declines from more than nine to a little less than eight hours per night, and reports of disrupted sleep increase over the interval. Generally, stressful social ties (e.g., when family composition changes because of divorce or remarriage) were shown to disrupt youths’ sleep. On the other hand, youths had healthier sleep (longer duration and of higher quality) when social ties were a source of support, such as when they felt part of the schools they attended or they were surrounded by academically oriented and prosocial friends.

Abstract of the research:

Teens tend go to bed later, get less sleep, and report more daytime sleepiness. Medical research emphasizes biological determinants of teens’ disrupted sleep (i.e., the timing of puberty and resultant drops in melatonin), rarely or inadequately considering youths’ social ties as a determinant of sleep behaviors. Sociologists recognize how social ties affect health behaviors but have generally neglected sleep, especially among teens. Drawing on a sample of 974 teens from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, this study controls for developmental and social relational factors to predict changes in youths’ sleep patterns between 12 and 15 years of age. In general, social relational factors outperform developmental factors in determining youths’ sleep patterns, particularly pointing to the importance of parental, peer, and school ties in promoting healthy sleep behaviors. The implications of these findings for further research are briefly discussed.