Lack of sleep may increase likelihood of teens engaging in risky sexual behaviors

Credit: Jourden C/public domain

Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep may be at an increased risk of engaging in unsafe sexual behaviors, such as not using condoms or having sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

“Teens by and large are not getting the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep a night, due to a number of reasons, including biological changes in circadian rhythms, early school start times, balancing school and extracurricular activities and peer social pressures” said Wendy M. Troxel, Ph.D., a RAND Corporation senior behavioral and social scientist and lead author of the study published in the journal Health Psychology. “Insufficient sleep may increase the potential for sexual risk-taking by compromising decision-making and influencing impulsivity.”

Troxel and her co-authors, all from RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution, analyzed…

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