Adolescents and young adults who don't get enough sleep on a regular basis are likely to wind up with substance-related problems, including binge drinking, driving under the influence, engaging in risky sexual behavior, and more, according to a recently published study.

"Even without a medical condition such as insomnia, many teenagers get less sleep than they need each night just because life -- computers, etc. -- getting in the way," independent sleep researcher Dr. Neil Stanley told BBC News. "But this study builds on previous research that shows a lack of sleep can seriously impair judgment. And this is particularly important for adolescents who are more prone to risk taking and willing to experiment with alcohol and drugs."

The study was published in the scientific journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, and was backed by the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. It was designed to elucidate on the nature of previous studies that showed poor sleep prospectively predicted alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use in adolescents.

The study was carried out using data from interviews and questionnaires given to a national sample of 6,504 adolescents living in the United States.

It's reported that the interviews and questionnaires were used to track sleep patterns, alcohol and drug use over a period of several years, with data collected at three different times between 1994 and 2002. The first of these three different data-collecting time periods, or "waves," took place around 1994, the second one circa 1996 and the last between 2001 and 2002.

In terms of the results that were discovered, researchers found that participants who suffered sleep difficulties in 1994 "significantly predicted" a number of issues that went on to take place by 1996. Among them: alcohol-related interpersonal problems, binge drinking, getting very drunk or high on alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol, getting into a sexual situation that was later regretted due to drinking, using illicit drugs and drug-related problems.

The relationship between participant sleep troubles reported in 1996 and subsequent substance-related problems that took place by 2002 had a similar pattern to what was seen in the first data set, although the effect was notably weaker.

According to a report from the New York Daily News, the outcome of this study is particularly concerning considering the fact that upwards of 45 percent of teens reportedly don't get the 8-10 hours of sleep each night that is recommended.

"Most of the time we don't think sleep is important ... But our results show sleep is a good marker of some serious later problems," said Professor Maria Wong of Idaho State University, a co-author of the study. "A lot of parents don't monitor their adolescents' sleep schedules and let them make their out decision about when to go to bed."

"But parents need to start talking to their teenagers, not just about grades and extra-curricular activities, but about sleep too. And they must get help if needed," Wong urged.

The conclusions drawn from this 20-year study basically come down to the fact that sleep difficulties and hours of sleep are a significant predictor of a number of substance-related problems. The authors of the study suggest that it may be useful to educate adolescents about the importance of sleep, sleep hygiene, and the potential consequences of poor sleep in drinking-related behaviors.

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