A new research has suggested that adolescents whose parents tend to set earlier bedtimes for them are substantially less prone to suffering from depression, and they are less likely to have any suicidal thoughts as well, as compared to youngsters who go to bed later.

Youngsters involved in the study, whose parents had set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24% more prone to suffering from depression, in addition to being 20% more likely of having thoughts of suicide, as compared to adolescents with bedtimes of 10 PM or earlier.

The study has indicated that proper sleep might end up offering youngsters some protection from depression and suicide thoughts, as has been pointed out by the researchers.

"Our results are consistent with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression", said study researcher James E. Gangwisch, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

As per the research, youngsters who admitted of getting 5 or fewer hours of sleep a night were 71% more likely to report depression and 48% more likely to have suicidal thoughts, as compared to those who were in bed for at least 8 hours.

The study has been published in the January 1 issue of SLEEP.