Disrupted sleep in teens identified as suicide risk factor

Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep on school nights or have interrupted sleep are at greater risk of suicide, new research from the University of Warwick has found.

Suicide is the one of the leading causes of death among adolescents in the UK. Despite teenagers’ well-known tendency to miss out on sleep—due to both biological and social factors—the long-term impact of this sleep loss on suicide risk has remained unclear.

Now, researchers at the University of Warwick have demonstrated a longitudinal link between disrupted sleep in early adolescence and later suicide attempts, for the first time in the context of risk-taking and decision making.

The new study, published in Sleep Advances, analysed data from more than 8,500 young people in the Millennium Cohort Study. It was found that adolescents who reported a suicide attempt at age 17 were more likely to have had shorter time in bed on school days and disrupted sleep at age 14.

Michaela Pawley, PhD Candidate in the Department of Psychology at University of Warwick said: “Adolescence is a crucial developmental period where both sleep problems and suicide risk tend to emerge. Our findings show that adolescents who experience difficulties maintaining and obtaining sufficient sleep are more likely to report a suicide attempt several years later. Poor sleep is not just a symptom of wider difficulties, but a significant risk factor in its own right. Addressing sleep problems could form a vital part of suicide prevention strategies.”

The key findings from the team at Warwick include:

• Shorter total time in bed on school days and more frequent night awakenings at 14 years of age were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting attempted suicide at 17 years.
• These associations held even after accounting for established suicide risk factors such as socioeconomic status, self-harm history, and mental health difficulties.
• Shorter total time in bed on school days and more frequent night awakenings were stronger risk factors compared to depressive symptoms and other established psychosocial risk factors.

The researchers were the first to explore how cognitive factors may influence this relationship. They found that teenagers with stronger rational decision-making skills appeared protected against the impact of night awakenings on suicide risk —although this protective effect diminished with frequent sleep disruption. This opens the question of what other factors may interplay with sleep to confer adolescent suicide risk.

Senior author Professor Nicole Tang, Director of Warwick Sleep and Pain Lab at the University of Warwick added: “We need to recognise that sleep deprivation and fragmentation are not trivial complaints – they can wear your defences down and drive actions or behaviours that have life-or-death consequences. If we can better identify and support teenagers struggling with sleep, we may be able to reduce suicide attempts.”

The researchers note that while insufficient sleep likely contributes to difficulties in cognitive functioning like decision-making, further studies are needed to fully understand these pathways. Nonetheless, the findings provide a basis for identifying teens most at risk of the poorest outcomes and highlight the potential of increasing sleep time on school nights as a practical target for suicide prevention in young people.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact:

Matt Higgs, PhD | Media & Communications Officer (Press Office) 

Email: Matt.Higgs@warwick.ac.uk | Phone: +44(0)7880 175403 

Study Details

• The study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study waves 6 and 7, covering adolescents at ages 14 and 17 (n=8,524).
• Sleep variables included time in bed on school and non-school days, sleep onset latency, frequency of night awakenings, and social jetlag.
• Suicide attempt was measured through self-report at age 17.
• Risk-taking and decision-making were assessed using the Cambridge Gambling Task.
• Paper title: Sleep Problems, Decision-Making, and Suicide Attempts During Adolescence: A Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study. DOI: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf062

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this report and need support: 

Children and young people affected by mental health issues can find support, information, and details about their local NHS mental health services at www.youngminds.org.uk/find-help or call Childline on 0800 1111. 

 For adults, whether you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, you can find local NHS urgent mental health helplines and a list of mental health charities, organisations and support groups offering expert advice, on the NHS website at: www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/ or call Samaritans on 116 123. 

About The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) 

The MCS is following 19,517 young people born across the UK in 2000-01, building a uniquely detailed portrait of the children of the new century. The MCS is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and a consortium of government departments and managed by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Social Research Institute. Visit https://www.cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/millennium-cohort-study/. 

About the University of Warwick

Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a world-leading institution known for its commitment to era-defining innovation across research and education. A connected ecosystem of staff, students and alumni, the University fosters transformative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and bold industry partnerships across state-of-the-art facilities in the UK and global satellite hubs. Here, spirited thinkers push boundaries, experiment, and challenge conventions to create a better world.