Associations of mood, stress, and social support with sleep duration and daytime sleepiness among adolescents in semi-rural Georgia

Objective

Adolescents are at greater risk for poor sleep compared to childhood; however, there is limited data regarding psychosocial determinants of adverse sleep health among semi-rural adolescents. We investigated associations of mood, stress, and social support with self-reported sleep duration and daytime sleepiness among adolescents.

Methods

Adolescents (n = 254) in semi-rural Georgia self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, stress, social support, sleep duration and daytime sleepiness in November 2020. Multinomial linear and logistic models were fit to examine associations of psychosocial factors with sleep duration and sleepiness; and effect modification by social support was tested after adjustment for covariates.

Results

Most participants were non-Hispanic White (55 %), female (53 %), and approximately 35 % were eligible for free-reduced lunch. Mean sleep duration (± SD) and daytime sleepiness was 8.04 ± 1.36 and 5.17 ± 2.37, respectively; and 42 % of participants reported insufficient sleep (<8 h). Depressive (β = 0.13, 95 % CI: 0.08, 0.18) and anxiety (β = 1.20, 95 % CI 0.51, 1.88) symptoms, and stress (β = 1.97, 95 % CI 1.21, 2.74) were associated with higher sleepiness scores. The psychosocial factors were associated with higher odds of insufficient sleep duration, but not continuous sleep duration. Higher social support was associated with lower sleepiness, but not sleep duration. There was no observed effect modification by social support.

Conclusions

Experiences of psychosocial factors were associated with more sleepiness and insufficient sleep, while social support was associated with less sleepiness. Future studies should explore intervention strategies to enhance mood and social support and reduce stress to improve sleep among semi-rural adolescents.