Sleeping less than five hours a night can raise depression risk, study suggests

Consistently short sleep duration more likely to precede symptoms than inverse, genetic data reveal

Sleeping less than five hours a night could raise the risk of developing symptoms of depression, research suggests.

The link between poor sleep and mental ill health is well known, but it has been unclear which problem tends to come first. Now scientists have found evidence that consistent short sleep at night can be a precursor to developing depressive symptoms.