Why sleep matters: differences in daytime functioning between adolescents with low and high chronic sleep reduction and short and long sleep durations

Sleep problems are prevalent in adolescents and can severely impair their daytime functioning. This study aims to investigate differences in daytime functioning (e.g., depressive symptoms, attention problems, school functioning, and school performance) between adolescents with high and low chronic sleep reduction and short and long sleep durations. With this approach we get a better idea of their vulnerability to impaired daytime functioning due to (chronic) sleep loss. From a total sample size of 794 adolescents, we selected the lowest and highest quartiles of adolescents with either low or high chronic sleep reduction and either short or long sleep durations. We found significant differences in daytime functioning between the different groups, giving evidence of vulnerability to impaired daytime functioning due to (chronic) sleep loss. The results are of high clinical relevance as they show that adolescents obtaining sufficient and/or good sleep show nearly no daytime functioning problems. Programs to improve adolescents' sleep are therefore highly recommended.