Adolescent insomnia symptoms have been associated with depression, suicide attempts and ideation, as well as the use of alcohol, cannabis and cocaine, according to a new piece of research.

Led by staff at US academic institution the University of North Texas, the study is published in the October 1st issue of the journal Sleep.

It involved 4,494 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18, then 3,582 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 in a follow-up session after six to seven years.

A total of 145 school pupils were selected to take part in the study based on factors including their size, curriculum, level of urbanisation and type of academic institution attended.

Those who reported having issues falling asleep every day or on most days were categorised as having insomnia symptoms.

Binge drinking was identified as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a row and suicide ideation was defined as having endorsed thoughts pertaining to suicide in the last 12 months.

"Results indicate that adolescents who had symptoms of insomnia were 2.3 times more likely to develop depression in early adulthood than adolescents without symptoms of insomnia," the study states.

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