Baggage Check: Sleep on It

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Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.

RECENT RESEARCH SHOWS a correlation between later bedtimes and depressed and suicidal thoughts among teenagers.

As always with correlational research, we've got a chicken and egg conundrum (and as per usual, this angle is under-reported in the mainstream media).

Maybe families that don't enforce earlier bedtimes are more chaotic and stressful, or alternately, more full of pressure to be up late doing homework and being perfect. Or maybe depressed kids are naturally resistant to going to bed early, and gradually able to wear their parents down over time to get a later bedtime.

There are a host of other explanations. Of course, there's the possibility that lack of sleep is in and of itself the major factor that puts these teens at higher risk for suicidal thinking, but until we know more, this is far from certain.

Sure to play into the controversy of whether the high school day should start later, this research isn't quite as clear-cut as it immediately seems. Nonetheless, it does underscore that in general, early-to-bed, a la Ben Franklin, is associated with being healthy. (As for the "wealthy and wise" part, someone should get to work on that grant proposal.)