new study by researchers at The University of Manchester, using data from the #BeeWell survey, has found that sleep plays a crucial role in the mental wellbeing of adolescent girls.

Published in Quality of Life Research, the study tracked nearly 28,000 teenagers in Greater Manchester over three years and examined how sleep, physical activity, and mental wellbeing are connected.

It revealed that girls’ sleep and mental wellbeing are closely linked. When girls reported getting enough sleep, they reported better mental wellbeing one year later. Interestingly, this relationship was found to be reciprocal, meaning that better mental wellbeing also predicted the later sleep quality of girls. This connection was particularly strong between the ages of 12 and 14 – a crucial time when mental health challenges can emerge.

For boys, sleep was also a predictor of their wellbeing, but the study did not find a reciprocal effect – wellbeing did not predict their later sleep quality.