A THREAT of sleeping late for teenagers as per survey conducted in India...

Multiple studies have established that sleep is important to maintain good respiratory health, among other bodily functions. After all, sleep is a normal biological function linked to the autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system and it also helps maintain body temperature. One study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in 2004, even established that the sleep hormone melatonin improves the condition of asthma patients by smoothing the muscles in the airway and reducing inflammation.

How sleeping late affects teens’ respiratory health

Evidently then, sleep-related issues are clearly linked to respiratory health, and not just in adults. A new study in ERJ Open Research indicates that teenagers who sleep late and wake up later in the morning have a much higher risk of developing asthma and allergies. “Sleep and the ‘sleep hormone’ melatonin are known to influence asthma, so we wanted to see if adolescents’ preference for staying up late or going to bed early could be involved in their asthma risk,” Dr Subhabrata Moitra from the University of Alberta, Canada — and the lead researcher of the study — told EurekAlert.

The study was conducted on 1,684 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 14 years in West Bengal. The participants were told to report their sleeping habits and their respiratory symptoms like wheezing, sneezing or a runny nose. The researchers took environmental factors into account while comparing these two sets of information, like a family member who smokes or proximity to factories or sources of air pollutants, to understand the link between sleep timings and respiratory issues.

They found that the asthma risk was three times higher for teenagers who slept late than those who went to bed early. The chances of developing allergic rhinitis, on the other hand, was twice as high in those who slept late.

While encouraging teenagers to keep these devices away well before bedtime is necessary, it’s important for adults, children and people of all age groups to create and maintain proper sleep environments to ensure neither sleep debt nor respiratory health issues become a problem in the future.