A new study has asserted that teens that get to bed earlier than those with later bedtimes are less at risk of falling prey to sadness and depression, and even having suicidal thoughts.

Youngsters whose parents set bedtimes of 10 PM or earlier were substantially less likely to be depressed or have any suicidal thoughts as compared to their peers who went to bed at 11 PM or later, as has been observed and reported by Dr. James E. Gangwisch of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and colleagues.

"It's kind of a common idea that older adolescents don't need as much sleep as younger adolescents, but that's really not true--they still need about 9 hours of sleep at night," Dr. Gangwisch explained.

For the sake of study, researchers analyzed data collected from over 15,000 seventh to twelfth graders in a study survey which was conducted in 1994-1996. It was revealed that 54% of the parents made their kids go to bed at 10 PM or earlier on school nights, and about 21% had bedtimes of 11 PM. About 25% admitted that they let their children stay up till midnight or beyond.

It was then discovered that there is a strong relationship between later bed times and thoughts of suicide and depression.

The details of the research have been published in the journal Sleep.