Nov 27, 2022 23:00:00

What effects do young people have on brain development and behavior when they stay up late?

Even if you used to go to bed early and wake up early when you were little, you'll gradually develop the habit of staying up late in your teens and eventually become a night owl. A research team at the University of Melbourne followed more than 200 young people for seven years and showed that young people who stayed up late showed changes in behavior and brain development.

Development of morning–eveningness in adolescence: implications for brain development and psychopathology - Cooper - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry - Wiley Online Library

https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13718

Is your teen a night owl? Their sleep pattern could shape their brain and behavior years later
https://theconversation.com/is-your-teen-a-night-owl-their-sleep-pattern-could-shape-their-brain-and-behaviour-years-later-193453

People's sleep patterns change in their teens, and they will stay up longer and stay up late. It is known that night-type people, whose productivity and concentration increase in the evening, have a higher risk of developing mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, and are less happy than morning-type people. There are several hypotheses for this reason, such as differences in genes, the amount of sunlight exposed in the morning, and the fact that the general public has a form that is advantageous for morning types from 9:00 to 17:00. In addition,research results have been reported that there are differences in the structure of the brain between morning people and night people.

It is clear that night-type people who tend to stay up late are more unhappy and have poor mental health-GIGAZINE

Therefore, a research team at the University of Melbourne conducted a series of questionnaires on young people's sleep patterns, emotions and well-being for more than 200 young people and their parents. In addition to responding to questionnaires several times over the course of seven years, the subjects said that young people underwent a total of two brain scans every few years to examine brain development.

In their brain scans, the researchers focused on white matter , which is associated with information processing and effective functioning. Previous studies have shown that morning owls and night owls have different white matter structures, but this study looked at how changes in sleep patterns affect white matter growth over time. It's the first study.

The study found that teens who started staying up late around the age of 12 or 13 were more likely to have behavioral problems years later, including increased aggression, rule-breaking and anti-social behaviour. turned out to be On the other hand, having behavioral problems around the age of 12-13 did not influence night owls later in life.

It was also found that young people who shifted to night owls had less white matter in their brains than morning people. Some studies show that white matter growth is important to support cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development, so this may be related to behavioral problems later in life.

'These findings highlight the importance of focusing on young people's sleep habits early in adolescence to support their emotional and behavioral health later in life,' said the research team. We know that sleep is extremely important for both mental health and brain health.'

Also, morning type and night type are not necessarily fixed, and it was found that you can

change your sleep pattern to a morning type by exposing yourself to sunlight in the morning and noon and not looking at a bright screen at night. I'm here. The research team said, `` Exposure to light first thing in the morning also helps shift our body clock to a more morning rhythm, '' encouraging young people to get sunlight in the morning. I advised that I could improve my sleep pattern by recommending it.