October 3, 2023 – Starting a romantic relationship or a breakup can have a negative impact on teens' sleep habits, based on a brand new study.
Researchers on the University of Pennsylvania examined 7,000 Chinese students who were in seventh, eighth or tenth grade initially of the study. The teens filled out questionnaires about their romantic experiences over the past 12 months and their sleeping habits.
The study appeared in Behavioral sleep medicine.
The researchers also paid attention to age, gender, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, family socioeconomic status, parents' marital status and depressive symptoms of the teenagers.
The researchers found that insomnia amongst teenagers increased by 41% in the event that they had began a relationship, by 35% in the event that they had experienced a breakup and by 45% if each had happened within the previous 12 months.
Then they interviewed the teenagers again a 12 months later.
“When the teens were re-examined a year later, they found that those who had gotten into a relationship were 61% more likely to experience new insomnia symptoms, and those who had experienced a breakup were 43% more likely “to develop new insomnia symptoms,” PsyPost reported.
The researchers found that romantic relationships influenced sleep quality and quantity within the short term and a 12 months later. Stress, hormones and psychosocial development could also play a job.
Children under 15 looked as if it would have greater problems. So did the women.
“In particular, the results must be viewed through the lens of traditional Chinese culture. Involvement in relationships as an adolescent deviates from social norms and therefore the stress of entering or ending a relationship could be exacerbated and sleep problems could increase,” PsyPost wrote.
The study authors said more research is required to find out whether this is applicable to other cultures.
“Findings suggest that SRR and breakups are associated with insomnia symptoms and short sleep duration, highlighting the importance of education about romantic relationships and managing romantic stress for healthy sleep, particularly among early teenage girls,” the authors write.