Associations Between Sleep Patterns, Circadian Preference, and Anxiety and Depression: A Two-Year Prospective Study Among Norwegian Adolescents

This study explored whether sleep duration, insomnia, social jetlag, and circadian preference predicted adolescents' risk of anxiety and depression two years later. High school students initially aged 16-17 years were, in 2019 and 2021, invited to a web-based survey assessing sleep patterns, insomnia, circadian preference, anxiety, and depression. Sleep duration, insomnia, circadian preference, depression, and anxiety were assessed using the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire, the Bergen Insomnia Scale, the reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the Generalized Anxiety-Disorder 7, respectively. Analyses were conducted using logistic regression analyses. The analytic longitudinal sample comprised 1456 students (initial mean age 16.4 years; 61.4% girls). Short school night sleep duration, chronic insomnia, and more severe insomnia symptoms at baseline predicted greater risk of anxiety and depression at follow-up when controlled for anxiety and depression at baseline. Neither free night sleep duration nor social jetlag at baseline were related to the risk of anxiety and depression at follow-up. When circadian preference was investigated continuously, greater morningness at baseline predicted lower risk of anxiety and depression at follow-up. When circadian preference was investigated categorically, evening preference type was associated with higher risk of depression at follow-up than intermediate preference type, while the prospective risk of anxiety and depression otherwise did not differ in relation to circadian preference. The results attest to prospective associations between adolescent sleep problems at baseline and later risk of anxiety and depression.