London, March 21 (IANS) Ensuring that teenagers get a good night’s sleep could make them less likely to use drugs, according to a study.
Instilling good bedtime habits by restricting computer and mobile phone use late at night could cut the chances of them trying marijuana, claimed researchers.

“Our behaviours are connected to each other and we need to start thinking about how one behaviour affects our lives on many levels.

“Therefore, when parents, schools and law enforcement want to look for ways to influence one outcome, such as drug use, our research suggests that targeting another behaviour, like sleep, may have a positive influence,” said Sara Mednick, from the University of California, who led the study.

Mednick suggested many ways to promote healthy sleeping habits.

“Take the TV out of the child’s bedroom, limit computer and phone usage to daytime and early evening hours, and promote napping,” she said.

The research also shows that getting little sleep and using drugs were habits that could spread through a teenager’s friendship groups, reported telegraph.co.uk

Teens were more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation if their friends did, or even their friends of friends did, the findings, based on a study of 8,349 teenagers and published in the journal PLOS One show.

Mednick added: “This is our first investigation of the spread of illegal drug use in social networks, and we believe it is also the first study in any age population on the spread of sleep behaviours through social networks.”