Consistent lack of sleep may increase risk of future depressive symptoms, study finds

People with a stronger genetic predisposition to short sleep — less than five hours in a given night — were more likely to develop depressive symptoms, the study found.

Consistently sleeping less than five hours a night could increase the risk of depression, research suggests.

Poor sleep has been considered a side-effect of mental ill health in the past, but the new study found that the link between sleep and mental illness is more complex.