Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
Poor sleep linked to drinking problem
Lack of sleep during teenage years can lead to alcohol and substance abuse as an adult, according to a recent study.
Teenagers aged 14 to 16 who either have a sleep disorder or do not sleep enough were 47 percent more likely than their counterparts to have a drinking problem later in their lives, the study published in the U.S. medical journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research showed.
The research team tracked 6,500 teenagers based on a 1994 to 2002 research analyzing the correlation between sleep, and alcohol and substance abuse.
Teenagers who had sleep problems once a week or more often were more likely to be involved in heavy drinking or binge drinking in later years, and even fall into substance abuse, results showed.
Teenagers with sleeping disorders were 14 percent more likely to drive under the influence the following day.
They were also 11 percent more likely to have problems in relationships after a year of continued sleeping disorders, and were 10 percent more likely to drive under the influence after five years.
On the other hand, when teenagers slept an extra hour, the likelihood of heavy drinking or binge drinking decreased by 10 percent.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises teenagers to sleep nine to 10 hours a day and adults seven to eight hours a day. But statistics show that 45 percent of teenagers in the U.S. do not get enough sleep.
“A sleeping disorder is not the only factor that gives rise to drinking problems, but this study shows there is a clear correlation,” researchers said.