{
  "id": 11042896,
  "title": "Fitbit data reveal a link between teens’ erratic sleep and how they handle emotions",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/fitbit-data-reveal-a-link-between-teens-erratic-sleep-and-how-they",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-30T22:00:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/fitbit-data-reveal-a-link-between-teens-erratic-sleep-and-how-they-handle-emotions/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study published in npj Mental Health Research suggests a connection between erratic sleep patterns among teens and their emotional well-being. Adolescents who experience shorter sleep periods, later bedtimes, and inconsistent sleep schedules are more likely to struggle with inward-directed distress such as anxiety and depression. According to the study authored by Andrea N. Goldstein-Piekarski and Sarah Izabel, both from Stanford University, highly variable sleep patterns prove particularly detrimental to teenage girls' emotional stability. The research team analyzed data from 1,371 teenagers aged 14, participating in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, using Fitbit devices to gather objective sleep data over three weeks. The findings indicate that shorter sleep durations, later sleep onset times, and inconsistent sleep schedules are associated with increased emotional distress. However, the relationship between sleep and emotional coping strategies varies among adolescents, with no significant link found between sleep and the cognitive reappraisal of emotions.",
  "summary": "Teens whose sleep length swings from night to night report more anxiety and sadness, a Fitbit-based study of 1,371 adolescents finds. The link was stronger in girls, and irregular sleepers reported suppressing their emotions more often.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}