Epidemiological research has shown that adolescents worldwide are chronically sleep deprived due to increased use of technology at night, consumption of caffeinated beverages, as well as more academic and social demands (1-3). Sleep fragmentation and sleep loss have been associated with emotional dysregulation (4), increased psychosis (5), and higher risk-taking behaviours, including substance abuse (6). Adolescents are particularly exposed to the risk of developing substance use disorders (SUDs) and related psychiatric comorbidities (7,8), hence it is particularly important to measure to what extent and how adolescent chronic sleep restriction contributes to the development of such mental disorders. So far, longitudinal analysis using ALSPAC data have found that less total sleep time at age 15 years predicts symptoms and diagnosis of anxiety and depression later in life (9). However, the prospective association between adolescent sleep and development of SUDs has not been explored.
One of the mechanisms through which sleep loss can affect brain function is by inducing epigenetic changes, dynamic modifications that can powerfully regulate gene expression, without changing the heritable genetic sequences. Epigenetic changes in the form of DNA methylation have been associated with both altered sleeping patterns (10,11) and SUDs in adults (12-15). Our goal is to determine whether adolescent sleep patterns predict the risk of developing SUDs later in life and to what extent epigenetic changes are associated with both adolescent chronic sleep restriction and drug consumption. Since, despite recent declines, alcohol remains the substance most widely used by today’s teenagers, this research proposal will focus on alcohol drinking and alcohol use disorders. The results of this analysis will guide future causal experiments to identify the biological mechanisms mediating the consequences of sleep loss and to develop new strategies to reduce alcohol abuse and improve mental health.

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