New Delhi: A new study has found that children who experience chronic lack of sleep since childhood may have an increased risk of developing psychosis in early adulthood. Analyzing the sleep duration of nearly 12,400 children ages 6 months to 7 years, researchers found that children who consistently slept fewer hours were more than twice as likely to develop psychological disorders in early adulthood.

The chances of this happening in these children were found to be almost four times psychotic episodeIn which the person loses touch with reality and may experience hallucinations.

According to lead author Isabel Morales-Munoz of the University of Birmingham, UK, persistent or chronic lack of sleep in childhood may not directly cause psychosis in adulthood, but it can be a contributing factor and parents should address it. Can help to do. ,

The researchers also said that while previous studies have linked sleep problems to psychosis, this is the first study to show that chronic lack of sleep can be a strong predictor of a person experiencing psychosis. The findings are published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry.

“It’s completely normal for children to suffer from sleep problems at different times in childhood, but it’s also important to know when it may be time to ask for help. Sometimes sleep can become a persistent and chronic problem , and that’s where we see the link with mental illness in adulthood,” Morales-Munoz said.

The researchers also analyzed data from nearly 4,000 adults when they were 24 years old.

While the team found a strong association between chronic lack of sleep as a child and experiencing psychosis as an adult, they said they had not proven a causal relationship and that other associated factors needed to be investigated. .

For example, looking at the health of children’s immune systems, researchers measured inflammation levels in blood samples from nine-year-old children. The results showed that a weakened immune system may partially explain the association between sleep loss and psychosis.

However, other unknown factors are also likely to be important, the researchers said.

Morales-Munoz said, “We know that early intervention is really important for helping youth with mental illness. Understanding the role of good sleep hygiene in positive mental health may be an important part of this process. ”