Teenagers who sleep very late in the night are at increased risk of having behavioural problems and delayed brain development later in life, a new study has claimed. The study, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, shows what happens to the brains of the teenagers if they become "night owls". The researchers have investigated the relationship between preference to sleep late and white matter development. Researchers studied 209 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 for the study. They said that 49 per cent of them were males.
"Across the sample, a preference for eveningness became more predominant by 19 years of age. Greater individual-level change towards eveningness significantly predicted greater severity in externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms at 19 years of age," the study said.
"In contrast, change in psychopathology from 12 to 19 years of age was not associated with morning-eveningness at age 19. A change towards eveningness predicted an attenuated increase in FA between 17 and 19 years of age," it further noted.
When they are growing up, sleeping patterns of adolescents keeps changing. Some teenagers can stay awake longer, while others sleep early. Many shift from being early risers to night owls.
This shift in sleeping patterns can clash with the teenagers' school and work. Due to a chronic lack of sleep, teenagers who go to sleep very late are at higher risk of emotional and behavioural problems than the morning larks.
Few years ago, a study had said that our genes determine if we like to sleep early or late. Scientists have long known that all plants and animals - from phytoplankton to homo sapiens - have internal biological clocks attuned to a 24-hour cycle. But within this so-called circadian rhythm, individuals of some species, including ours, may have a natural preference for day or night, said the study.
