Association of sleep with mental health in Chinese high school students: a cross‐sectional study

Summary Adolescents’ sleep problems and their association with mental health is an important public health concern. This study aimed to investigate sleep and mental health status and the association of sleep with mental health in Chinese high school students. Data came from a cross‐sectional study in Guangdong province which included 42,077 high school students. Sleep quality and sleep duration were obtained through self‐report. The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS‐21) was used to measure mental health. The association between sleep quality, sleep duration, and mental health was analysed using logistic regression. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were 35.27%, 42.32%, and 21.87% in high school students, respectively. And only 17.71% and 34.41% of the high school students had very good sleep quality and ≥8 h sleep duration, respectively. Poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration were risk factors for mental health problems in high school students. Compared to high school students with very good sleep quality and ≥8 h sleep duration, the high school students with poor or very poor sleep quality and <6 h sleep duration had the highest risk of depression symptoms (odds ratio [OR] 5.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.40–5.72), anxiety symptoms (OR 6.02, 95% CI5.25–6.89), and stress symptoms (OR 6.12, 95% CI5.30–7.06). Considering the combined association of sleep quality and sleep duration on mental health, it is important not only to ensure that high school students have sufficient sleep duration, but also to improve their sleep quality.