Medical Daily – Mary Pascaline Dharshini
“A study has found that sleep quality and sleep duration in late childhood can predict alcohol and drug use later in adolescence. The study, published Monday in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, was led by researchers from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine and the Pitt Department of Psychology. “Treating problems with drugs and alcohol once they exist and preventing them can be challenging, and we are always looking for modifiable risk factors,” lead author of the study Brant P. Hasler said in a statement. “Doing what we can to ensure sufficient sleep duration and improve sleep quality during late childhood may have benefits in terms of reducing the use of these substances later in life.” Researchers studied 186 boys from western Pennsylvania. They analyzed the responses to the Child Sleep Questionnaire that the boys’ mothers completed, which is also part of a larger research that looks into the vulnerability and resilience of low-income boys.”(more)