Examining Associations between Sleep & Circadian Phase with Psychological Vulnerability in Young People

Developmental changes unfolding during puberty contribute to short and late-timed sleep in the context of early school schedules, and ultimately mental-health difficulties in young people. Understanding if sleep, pubertal maturity, and body-clock time effects are interdependent, or connected with psychological factors, can help us improve mental-health in young people. This thesis showed that sleep and body-clock time influence mental-health together, and in different levels as puberty progresses. Also, young people holding unhelpful views about sleep experienced less intense positive emotions after short/poor sleep periods. Overall, this work suggests that we can reduce sleep-related risk of mental-health difficulties in young people.