Associations of time spent on homework or studying with nocturnal sleep behavior and depression symptoms in adolescents from Singapore

Objective: To investigate associations of adolescents' time spent on homework/studying with nocturnal time for sleep and depression symptoms, in a competitive academic environment. Design: Cross-sectional, anonymous survey of sleep habits, school life, and health-related measures. Setting: Eight schools in Singapore. Participants: Total 1225 adolescents aged 13-19 years. Measurements: Self-reported sleep behavior and time use data were collected separately for school days and weekends. Multiple regression models were used to test covariation of time spent on homework/studying with other activities, and associations of homework/studying duration with depression symptoms. Results: Time in bed for sleep and media use were inversely related with homework/studying duration on both school days and weekends, adjusting for time spent on other activities and demographic variables. Face-to-face family time and hanging out with friends were also reciprocally related with homework/studying duration on weekends. Depression scores were higher in adolescents who spent long hours on homework/studying. On school days, this was mediated by reduced time in bed for sleep. On weekends, homework/studying duration associated with depression symptoms, adjusting for time in bed and other covariates. Adolescents who spent >5 hours on homework/studying per day on weekends had greater symptoms of anhedonia and anxiety. Conclusions: In a competitive academic setting, adolescents who spent more time on homework/studying spent less time on sleep, media use, and social activities. Independent of effects on sleep, long hours on homework/studying on weekends may be a risk factor for depression. Reducing adolescents' workload outside of class may benefit their sleep, schoolwork-life balance, and mental well-being. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of National Sleep Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license. (http://creativecommormorg/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)