Lack of sleep in children could lead to psychosis in adulthood

A new study has discovered that children who consistently slept fewer hours were more than twice as likely to develop a psychotic disorder in early adulthood and nearly four times as likely to experience a psychotic episode. Previous studies have shown connections between sleep problems and psychosis at specific times, but this is the first to show that ongoing lack of sleep strongly predicts psychosis. MORE ABOUT THE STUDY Dr Isabel Morales-Muñoz, the lead author, explained: "It’s normal for children to have sleep problems occasionally, but persistent sleep issues can be linked to psychiatric illness in adulthood. Although researchers from the University of Birmingham found a strong association between childhood lack of sleep and psychosis in early adulthood, it didn’t prove that one causes the other. They measured inflammation levels in blood samples at age nine and found that a weakened immune system could partly explain the link between sleep problems and psychosis, but other unknown factors might also play a role.