We are a multi-country, multi-university research team funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Our study aims to identify sleep and circadian related mechanisms through which adolescents may either develop, or demonstrate resilience to, depression and anxiety.
We will examine how the pathway from sleep and body clock related changes to depression and anxiety during adolescence differs in lower, medium and higher income communities from a country in the global North (United Kingdom) and one in the global South (South Africa) so that research findings are applicable across geographical, societal and cultural contexts.
Some background…
Adolescence is a period that is characterised by many changes brain development, sleep and body clock biology. This makes this group vulnerable to a variety of mental health challenges, which often persist into adulthood.
We would therefore like to find out how and when symptoms emerge, in the hopes to aid future interventions that prevent and provide early treatment for adolescent depression and anxiety, which will then reduce adult depression and anxiety as well as the burden on health care services.
Sleep is very closely linked to mental health outcomes, and so we are investigating sleep quantity and quality, timing and regularity.
Answering our research questions.
We include individuals with first-hand knowledge of sleep and mental health challenges from our communities (Lived Experience Experts) in our design, evaluation and implementation.
Our study is longitudinal, and there are three data collection points over three years.
We are taking a multi-methods approach, and are using various measures that tell us about participants sleep, body clock and mental health that will allow underlying relationships to emerge.
For more information on our measures, please watch the video below and see Participation.
Community engagement is very important to us.
From the planning all the way up to the final publication, we collaborate with members of our communities to ensure that our methods and interpretations are relevant and align with the needs and interests of each community.
Through our engagement with the wider community, we aim to raise awareness of the importance of good sleep and mental health, to help build long-term health in young people.