RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE

Relationship between Sleep and Suicide among Teenagers Andrei . Zanfirescu University of Bucharest

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE Abstract Sleep is known to be a major indicator of quality of life and most studies show links between sleep and how it changes our life style. Sleep may be a key factor in understanding high risks behaviors among teenagers such as suicidal attempts. People that get an adequate amount of sleep experience a better well-being state. Furthermore, lack of sleep is linked to a whole range of negative effects over the quality of life. Teenagers who enjoy clubbing and wasting a lot of nights with their friends and party groups marks signs of depression and high risk behaviors. Suicide represents an important aspect of high risk behavior considering that suicidal attempts include a whole range of attributes such as family, lifestyle, medication, school, etc. The purpose of this study is to identify a possible relationship between lack of sleep and suicide among teenagers that somehow sleep has become the least important aspect of their life. Keywords: suicide, risk behavior, teenagers, sleep

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE Relationship between Sleep and Suicide among Teenagers Suicide is defined as an attempt to kill oneself in a way that has a high probability of success. Furthermore from an evolutionary perspective, family studies do not suggest that there are genes for suicide, although genetic information may increase the probability of conditions that are associated with increased suicide risk (McGuire & Troisi, 1998). The theory of senescence had come as a possible answer to why people die considering that the power of natural selection decreases dramatically with increasing age. Although the theory of senescence states strong evidence regarding the way human beings are designed to die, explanation of suicidal behavior is argued by De Catanzaro's considering that suicide will be most likely to occur when an individual has a dramatically reduced ability to contribute to his or her own inclusive fitness. Theoretically, there are conditions that could select for psychological mechanisms that would prompt a person to commit suicide. These conditions center on failing in heterosexual mating and being a burden on close kin (Buss, 2008). Insufficient sleep and sleep disturbance have serious consequences on personal health, mood, learning, performance and safety as well as societal costs in terms of decreased productivity (Umlauf, Bolland, & Lian, 2011). Sleeplessness in teens is associated with behavioral problems such as impaired mood regulation, depression, poor academic performance, substance use (alcohol, in particular) somatic health problems, accidents and injuries. Sleep deprivation in teens has a potent effect on behavior, emotion and attention (Samantha, Pete, Mary, & Amy, 2011). Adolescents tent to experience more problems with sleep loss as a natural consequence of puberty. Depressed mood is associated with both insufficient sleep and poor quality sleep, particularly among older teens (Umlauf, Bolland, & Lian, 2011). Certain health risk behaviors (fighting, suicide ideation, smoking and alcohol use) are related to poor sleep quality (Karen, Felts, & Becker,

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE 2009). From 1969 to 2001, the mean hours of sleep reported by college students dropped from 7.75 hours per night to 6.65 as mentioned by Karen, Felts, & Becker, 2009 (apud Hicks, Fernandez, & Pellegrini, 2001a). College students are a special group because the campus culture presents many unique sleep-related challenges which include parties, stress and work coupled with the communal living arrangements typically associated with specific-student-rooms (Kanita, et al., 2006). Sleeping disorders, namely insomnia, restless leg syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and shift wake-sleep disorder are results of sleep disturbances and are categorized in psychological and social dysfunctions (Hun & Hyun, 2008). Insomnia is defined as a persistent difficulty in initiating and/or maintaining sleep and is associated with distress and impaired daytime functioning. According to several earlier prospective studies, the presence of insomnia is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicide, with increased odds ratios, ranging from 2 to 5, compared with those without insomnia (Szentkirlyi, Madarsz, & Novk, 2009). It is noted that sleep disorders and suicidal behavior have common attributes such are genetic information, low levels of serotonin, sleep disorders and further on. Studies cited above are but a few of many regarding a relationship between sleep, mostly sleep disorders, and suicide either from a more evolutionary and biological-behavior perspective. Thus it is not enough evidence to put a barrier between these two superficial concepts and it can easily deceive our thinking regarding sleep, lack of sleep, suicide and suicidal ideation . One thing is to think of suicide and trying to commit it and another matter is perceiving a thought of suicide. Same could go for sleep as you cant diagnose it a disorder just by observing that some teenagers skip regular sleep hours for social activities (parties, stress, etc.). The relationship in this study aims how highlow levels of sleep have an impact on suicidal ideation meanwhile assuming the quality of life the participants have.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE METHOD Participants Participants are 60 graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Bucharest, Romania who were asked to fill out 3 questionnaires regarding sleep, suicidal ideation and quality of life. The participants age ranges from 19 to 28 years old. Materials and Methodology Participants were presented with the following questionnaires: General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ 28), a Sleep Survey and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Results obtained from assessments of psychological well-being, GHQ 28, can be useful in understanding various sources of distress for everyone, as well as any predisposing factors. Examples of some of the items in use include Have you found everything getting on top of you?; Have you been getting scared or panicky for no good reason? and Have you been getting edgy and bad tempered? Each item is accompanied by four possible responses, typically being not at all, no more than usual, rather more than usual and much more than usual, scoring from 0 to 3, respectively. The total possible score on the GHQ 28 ranges from 0 to 84 and allows for means and distributions to be calculated, both for the global total, as well as for the four sub-scales. The results of the survey will be used as a general description of college students sleep habits/quality rather than a grading scale. However, according to the total points, the severity of sleep problems can be assessed. The bottom of the survey shows the total points and corresponds to three different levels of problematic sleep severity. The SBQ-R has 4 items, each tapping a different dimension of suicidality as it goes: item 1 taps into lifetime suicide ideation and/or suicide attempt; item 2 assesses the frequency of suicidal ideation over the past twelve months; item 3 assesses the threat of suicide attempt; item 4 evaluates self-reported likelihood of suicidal behavior

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE in the future. Due to the wording of the four SBQ-R items, a broad range of information is obtained in a very brief administration. Responses can be used to identify at-risk individuals and specific risk behaviors.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP AND SUICIDE References Buss, D. (2008). Evolutionary Psychology - The New Science of the Mind. Pearson Education. Hun, S. K., & Hyun, S. K. (2008). Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts among Korean Adolescents. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev, 221235. Kanita, D., Madelyn, S. G., Gerhard, L., Kleinman, M., Tuerkan, A.-K., Drew, V., . . . Max, H. F. (2006). Youth Suicide Risk Factors and Attitudes in New York and Vienna - A CrossCultural Comparison. Suicide & Life - Threatening Behavior, 539-552. Karen, V.-S., Felts, W. M., & Becker, C. (2009). Relationship between Sleep Quality and Health Risk Behaviors in Undergraduate College Students. College Student Journal, 924-930. McGuire, M., & Troisi, A. (1998). Darwinian Psychiatry. New York: Oxford University Press. Samantha, S., Clinkinbeard, Pete, S., Mary, K. E., & Amy, L. A. (2011). Sleep and Delinquency: Does the Amount of Sleep Matter? Jouirnal of Youth Adolescence, 916-930. Szentkirlyi, A., Madarsz, Z. C., & Novk, M. (2009). Sleep disorders: impact on daytime functioning and quality of life. Expert Rev. Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes Res. 9(1), 4964. Umlauf, M. G., Bolland, J. M., & Lian, B. E. (2011). Sleep Disturbance and Risk Behaviors among Inner-City African-American Adolescents. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine Vol. 88, No. 6, 1130-1142.