Sleep-Deprived Teens More Likely to Commit Crimes than Adults

New research out of the University of York in the United Kingdom and the University of Pennsylvania reported that teens who report midday sleepiness tend to show more anti-social behaviors like fighting, cheating, stealing, and lying. In fact, more than a decade later, those same overtired teens were 4-1/2 times more likely to commit violent crimes. One of the lead authors of the study is Adrian Raine, who is a Professor at Richard Perry University and a member of the Criminology and Psychology Department in the School of Arts & Sciences, as well as Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. This is one of the first studies to link daytime sleepiness in teens to criminal activity more than a decade later.

Key Points:

  • 1New research shows that teens who report midday sleepiness show more anti-social behaviors as teens and are more likely to commit violent crimes as adults.
  • 2Scientists emphasize, however, that drowsiness does not predispose a teen to anti-social behavior and crime. The research only shows a connection.
  • 3This provides an opportunity to help identify and treat children with behavioral disorders. Simply getting more quality sleep may help solve the behavioral problems.


The link was found between low social class and early social diversity leading to daytime sleepiness, which in turn led to brain dysfunction and inattention, resulting in criminal behavior 14 years later.

Read the full article at: https://www.sleepassociation.org/2017/02/24/sleep-deprived-teens-likely-commit-crimes-adults/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sleep-deprived-teens-likely-commit-crimes-adults

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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