Associations between sleep duration and depression, mental health, physical health, and general health in U.S. adults: A population-based study.

Short sleep duration was associated with a 14.1 percentage point increase in depression incidence compared to recommended sleep duration.

• Study used BRFSS data from 2016–2023 with 318,000 adults
• Short sleep defined as ≤5 hours; recommended sleep defined as 6–8 hours
• Baseline prevalence of depression among recommended sleep group was 39.5% (95% CI: 39.4%–39.7%)
• Short sleep associated with 14.1 percentage point increase in depression incidence (95% CI: 13.8%–14.4%)
• Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) was used to derive the Average Treatment Effect (ATE), adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic covariates

Long sleep duration was associated with a 12.9 percentage point increase in depression incidence compared to recommended sleep duration.

• Long sleep defined as ≥9 hours
• Long sleep linked to a 12.9 percentage point increase in depression incidence (95% CI: 12.5%–13.3%)
• Baseline depression prevalence in recommended sleep group was 39.5% (95% CI: 39.4%–39.7%)
• Both short and long sleep showed substantial associations with depression relative to recommended sleep

Short sleep duration was associated with more poor mental health days, poor physical health days, and higher prevalence of poor general health compared to recommended sleep.

• Short sleepers reported an average of 5.3 poor mental health days (95% CI: 5.3–5.4)
• Short sleepers reported an average of 4.4 poor physical health days (95% CI: 4.3–4.4)
• Short sleepers had a 10.0% higher prevalence of poor general health (95% CI: 9.7%–10.2%) compared to recommended sleep group
• All comparisons were relative to individuals with recommended sleep (6–8 hours)

Long sleep duration was associated with more poor mental health days, poor physical health days, and higher prevalence of poor general health compared to recommended sleep.

• Long sleepers reported an average of 4.6 more poor mental health days (95% CI: 4.5–4.7)
• Long sleepers reported an average of 3.2 more poor physical health days (95% CI: 3.1–3.3)
• Long sleepers had a 20.3% higher prevalence of poor general health (95% CI: 19.4%–21.3%) compared to recommended sleep group
• The poor general health prevalence increase was notably larger for long sleepers (20.3%) than for short sleepers (10.0%)

The study sample was drawn from nationally representative BRFSS data collected between 2016 and 2023, comprising 318,000 U.S. adults.

• Sample was 63.3% female and 74.5% White with a mean age of 51.3 ± 18.4 years
• Sleep duration was self-reported and categorized into three groups: short (≤5 hours), recommended (6–8 hours), and long (≥9 hours)
• Short sleep served as the reference category for IPW analyses
• Health outcomes included self-reported depression diagnosis, poor mental health days, poor physical health days, and self-rated general health on a 5-point Likert scale
• All analyses incorporated BRFSS complex survey weights to ensure national representativeness