Posted on April 14, 2010

Failing to get enough sleep at night can make for a very long day. A new study has identified another reason to try and get more zzz’s. This study identified a long-term relationship between childhood sleep problems and subsequent alcohol and drug outcomes.

A recent Science Daily post shows that sleep problems are a major public-health issue in the United States. In 2006, more than 50 percent of 6th to 12th graders reported feeling tired or sleepy and more than 30 percent reported having problems remaining asleep during the night.

"The prevalence of problem sleepiness among adolescents and young adults, ages 12 to 25 years, is not only high but also increasing,” said Maria M. Wong, associate professor in the department of psychology at, Idaho State University, citing several studies. “Some serious consequences include increased risk of unintentional injuries or death, such as car accidents, low academic performance, negative moods, and increased use of alcohol and drugs."

According to Tim Roehrs, director of research at the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at the Henry Ford Hospital, sleep and sleepiness problems are important issues in childhood and adolescence. Emerging data shows the prevalence of chronic insomnia in children and adolescents is not very different from that of adults. There is now an association between this data and substance problems.

"In [ealier] studies, 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," said Wong. "Most of our participants are young adults right now. So we wanted to test for the association between sleep problems and substance problems now that they are older."

Overall, having trouble sleeping in early childhood – ages three to five – predicted a higher probability of having trouble sleeping in adolescences. This in turn predicted the presence of drug-related problems in young adults.