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Young people with sleep problems are prone to taking drugs and alcohol when they become adults

Written by: David Castillo on April 15th, 2010

Young people with sleep problems are prone to taking drugs and alcohol when they become adults | read this item

A recent study suggests that children who have poor sleep practices are more likely to take drugs and binge drink when they become adults.

Poor sleeping habits among youth is linked to drunken driving, smoking, and even blackouts.

The research also says that children who had sleep problems when they were between the ages of three and five are more likely to sleep poorly when they reach 11-17 years old.

These people who lacked sleep also had higher rates for drug use when they reach 18-21.

“Over-tiredness and having trouble sleeping predicted onset of alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use among boys and onset of alcohol use only among girls,” explained Maria Wong, professor of psychology at Idaho State University.

Dr. Wong says that poor sleep patterns ‘directly predicted’ the presence of several problems related to alcohol.

The study was published in “Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.”

Source: DailyMail.co.uk

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