{
  "id": 158739,
  "title": "A good night's sleep may help adolescents thrive in school and with friends",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/a-good-nights-sleep-may-help-adolescents-thrive-in-school-and-with",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-05T02:40:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-good-night-adolescents-school-friends.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study from UC Davis Health, published in Psychological Medicine, reveals that sleep quality may be more influential than screen time, exercise, or diet in aiding adolescents' academic success and friendships. The research, which analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, focused on four lifestyle factors—sleep quality, screen time, physical activity, and diet—among children aged 10 to 13. The findings indicate that sleep quality emerged as the most significant factor affecting mental health symptoms and academic performance, explaining a substantial portion of the association with depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like disturbances. Specifically, sleep accounted for 18.5% of the connection between depression, 36.3% for anxiety, and 8.3% for psychotic-like symptoms. While exercise and diet also played roles, their impact was comparatively minor. The study's senior author, Tara Niendam, emphasized that sleep may serve as a crucial yet frequently overlooked target for enhancing the mental well-being of adolescents experiencing mental health challenges. She noted that while it does not replace professional mental health care, adopting healthy sleep routines can support emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning. The research underscores the importance of addressing sleep quality as a practical means to bolster young people's emotional resilience and daily functioning during a critical developmental period.",
  "summary": "A new UC Davis Health study published in Psychological Medicine suggests that when it comes to helping adolescents succeed in school and maintain healthy friendships, sleep may matter more than screen time, exercise or diet. This was particularly true for youth experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges.",
  "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."
}