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The Role of Nutrition and Sleep in Teen Mental Health

Author:
Jemma Strain
Jemma Strain
B.S. Psychology
Editor:
Emma Loker
Emma Loker
B.S.
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Food and sleep are fuel for a teenager’s mental health and well-being. Our brains are always “on the go,” taking care of our moods, thoughts, movements, breathing, and senses. However, if we don’t feed our brains with the right nutrients and give them the chance to restore themselves through sleep, their structures can change. 

When a teenager’s developing brain structurally changes, their mental and physical health can suffer – potentially leading to a range of mental health conditions, including depression. 

Up to 50% of adult mental health conditions start to form before the age of 14 and roughly 20% of teens struggle to cope with their mental health at any one time. Therefore, making lifestyle changes, such as focusing on a nutrient-rich diet and better sleep habits, could make a world of difference to a teen’s well-being and outlook for the future.1,2

A mental health professional can give valuable advice on how to improve diet and sleep for better mental health. This article can also help by covering…

  • The impact of nutrition on teen mood 
  • Information on healthy eating for teens
  • The link between sleep and teen mental wellness
  • Different teen sleep disorders
  • Tips for improving teen sleep and mental wellness
  • When to seek support for teen nutrition and sleep issues
The Role of Nutrition and Sleep in Teen Mental Health

Teen Nutrition and Mental Health

The saying “You are what you eat” isn’t purely anecdotal – studies demonstrate that there’s a strong relationship between poor eating habits and mental health issues in adolescents. The direction of this relationship is sometimes debated, with some professionals suggesting that teens with mental health issues eat junk food as a way to self-medicate and feel better. Yet, it has also been shown that an unhealthy diet contributes to the experience of mental health problems.3

For this reason, understanding the relationship between diet and mental health issues in teens can help you recognize how to take steps toward improving well-being. This way, you and your child aren’t solely taking care of physical health – you’re also taking action to fuel their brain development and mental health. 

To start, it can be good to build awareness of how diet can influence adolescents’ mood. The next section discusses this impact. 

Impact of Nutrition on Teen Mood

The following are ways that nutrition can lead to mood problems and mental health issues in teens: 

  • Lack of important nutrients: A diet lacking in nutrient-rich foods can lead to deficiencies which have been linked to mental health issues. Specifically, a lack of folate, zinc, and magnesium has been linked to depression. Similarly, inadequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with anxiety.4
  • Inflammation: A poor diet contributes to inflammation which can lead to immune system difficulties. Studies have shown that people with depression tend to have higher amounts of inflammation in comparison to people without depression, signaling that a poor diet could increase symptoms.5
  • Impacts on brain development: Teenagers’ brains are still undergoing significant development, which may be impacted by a poor diet. For instance, evidence suggests that a high-fat, high-sugar intake can reduce the amount of a certain protein in the brain required for the growth and maintenance of neurons. Additionally, this specific protein has been shown to be reduced in people with depression.6

 

However, the good news is that there’s also evidence which shows that a healthy, balanced diet can improve mental health conditions. For instance, a healthy diet is associated with lower inflammation, improvements in brain development, and reduced symptoms of issues such as depression.6

If you’re concerned that your child’s diet is contributing to their mental health condition, it can be comforting to know that factors such as nutrition are within your and your child’s control. However, you may not fully understand how to improve nutritional intake. A mental health professional can talk to you about implementing lifestyle changes to improve mental health. The next section also discusses how to make healthy eating for teens part of your and your child’s daily routines. 

Healthy Eating for Teens

When targeting diet to improve mental health conditions in teens, it’s good to focus on nutrient-dense foods. By “nutrient-dense,” we mean foods that contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals in one serving. This way, you can ensure your child receives a balanced diet to elevate their mood and well-being. 

As a note, hydration is key for improved mood and better well-being. In fact, even mild dehydration can lead to negative emotions, lower energy levels, and a reduced ability to concentrate. Therefore, as well as promoting a balanced diet, encourage your child to drink water at regular intervals throughout the day.7

The following are also tips which promote healthy eating for teens:

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Teen Mental Health:

Research shows that omega-3s are linked to improved mood and reduced symptoms of mental health conditions such as depression. For example, one study highlighted how people who took omega-3 supplements and antidepressant medication had more improvements in symptoms in comparison to those who solely took antidepressants. This effect may come down to how omega-3s are linked to brain development, better mental performance, and reduced mood issues.8,9

Foods high in omega-3s:

If you’d like to increase the amounts of omega-3s in your teen’s diet, aim to add oily fish to your weekly intake. These include fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and trout. Additionally, certain nuts and seeds have high omega-3 content, such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts. 

Amino Acids and Improved Well-Being:

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein – and their intake has shown to be effective in improving mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety. Specifically, increasing the amounts of amino acids in the diet may improve cognitive abilities and motivation, as well as reduce stress. This effect may come down to how amino acids play a role in the development of chemicals responsible for mood, such as the neurotransmitter serotonin.10

Foods high in amino acids:

When looking to boost the amount of amino acids in your child’s diet, consider increasing your intake of animal products such as beef, chicken, eggs, and dairy. However, if you have a plant-based diet, you can still factor in increased amounts of amino acids. For instance, you can add quinoa, soy products, nuts and seeds, legumes, and grains to your child’s weekly intake. 

Vitamin D and Mental Health:

While many people associate vitamin D solely with bone health, it also plays an important role in well-being. For instance, studies have shown that supplementing a diet with vitamin D can lower the effects of depression and improve quality of life.11

Sources of vitamin D: 

Similar to omega-3s, good sources of vitamin D include oily fish such as salmon and mackerel – so these fish have a dual benefit for improving mental health. Other sources of vitamin D are fortified products such as milk, breakfast cereals, and yogurts. Additionally, sunlight is an important provider of vitamin D, so encourage your child to spend time outside when possible. 

Iron and Teen Mental Health:

Iron’s role in energy levels and reduced tiredness is well known. However, what’s less known is how iron plays a role in how your body produces the “happy hormones” serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. For this reason, low iron levels have been associated with increased rates of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, psychosis, and schizophrenia. Additionally, studies show that boosting iron levels leads to improved moods in people with and without mental health diagnoses.12

Foods rich in iron:

Red meat, eggs, chicken, and seafood contain a source of iron that is more easily absorbed by the body. However, for those with a more plant-based diet, fortified foods, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, legumes, and tofu are good options. Also, to optimize how your child’s body absorbs iron, you could consider adding sources of vitamin C to their diet. 

Vitamin B and Better Well-Being:

B vitamins, especially vitamin B-12, B-6, and folate, have been shown to be effective in improving mood and reducing the symptoms of mental health conditions such as depression. Additionally, B vitamins may increase the beneficial effects of medications such as antidepressants and reduce aggressive behaviors. Therefore, supplementing a teen’s diet with B vitamins could improve their symptoms – and even help prevent symptoms from starting in the first place.2

Sources of B vitamins: 

Salmon is rich in several forms of vitamin B, as well as omega 3s and iron. Additionally, green leafy veg, organ meats, dairy, eggs, legumes, sunflower seeds, and many animal products are also good sources of B vitamins. 

Aiming to include these nutrients in your child’s diet can go a long way toward improving their mental health. However, while fueling the body is important for well-being, mental health conditions are complex issues which often involve interactions between lifestyle factors, social support, genetics, and environment. A mental health professional can help you and your child understand how to make strides towards better well-being which addresses each of these factors. 

Additionally, another part of a teen’s lifestyle that can significantly impact their well-being is their quality and amount of sleep. Let’s consider the relationship between sleep and teen mental wellness to improve awareness of how to get a better night’s rest. 

Sleep and Teen Mental Wellness

We’re all familiar with the occasional bad night’s sleep – and the “haze” or fog it can produce. Thinking, recognizing our feelings, and managing our emotions become much more difficult on the days when we don’t feel rested. Getting along with others can feel like a struggle, not to mention how lack of sleep affects our ability to work. Yes, a lack of sleep can be difficult to cope with – yet, this negative impact may be even greater for teenagers. 

Studies show that teenagers need roughly nine hours of sleep each night to feel refreshed and at their mental best – more than young children and adults. However, approximately 70% of teens don’t get this amount.13

Unfortunately, the link between lack of sleep and mental health issues is clear. Lack of sleep can contribute to problems with mood management, concentration, problem-solving, and motivation. These difficulties have even led the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to declare insufficient sleep a “public health problem.”14

A lack of sleep can even lead to a range of specific mental health issues in teens, which we detail below. 

Teen Sleep Disorders:

The following are teen sleep disorders that can impact the amount and quality of sleep a teenager gets – further influencing their mental and physical health in a variety of ways.15,16

  • Insomnia: Many people are familiar with insomnia. This disorder affects a teenager’s ability to fall and stay asleep, leading to feelings of fatigue and difficulties functioning in day-to-day life. Insomnia can increase feelings of anxiety, lower motivation, and impact the ability to concentrate and learn. 
  • Delayed sleep phase disorder: Our internal body clock affects our levels of sleepiness. When a teenager has delayed sleep phase disorder, their internal body clock is “off,” creating difficulties falling asleep and waking up at appropriate times. Therefore, a teen may find it hard to regulate their sleep cycle with having to get up for school – creating fatigue, problems with concentration, and mood issues. 
  • Hypersomnolence disorders: These disorders are rarer than insomnia and delayed sleep phase disorder and include issues such as narcolepsy and Kleine-Levin syndrome. Hypersomnolence issues create problems with excessive sleepiness during the day, even if a teenager has gotten plenty of sleep. Similar to other teen sleep disorders, these issues create problems with regulating emotions, learning, and well-being. 

Improving Teen Sleep and Mental Wellness

A lack of quality sleep is not a normal part of growing up, so it’s important that a teen gets a good night’s rest to be able to function at their mental and physical best. As a parent, you can play an essential role in helping your child get the rest they need – but if you need advice on how to go about intervening, a mental health professional can give guidance. The following tips can also help.

Create a Calm Nighttime Atmosphere

Teenagers’ daily lives can be hectic; schoolwork, exams, social pressures, extracurricular activities, and so on. Each of these factors can create a constant “On the go” attitude and lead to stress – making it difficult to relax before bed. You can help your child unwind by making sure they avoid caffeine, stimulating activities, and stressors like studying at night.

Help Them Make a Sleep Routine

Aside from creating a calm nighttime atmosphere, you can also help your child make a sleep schedule. According to the Sleep Foundation, a successful sleep routine involves factors such as:

  • Making sure your teen has a comfortable mattress and bedding
  • Blocking out excess light with curtains
  • Minimizing noise
  • Ensuring that their bedroom is neither too hot nor too cold
  • Encouraging them to get the recommended amount of sleep (roughly nine hours for teens) 
  • Recommending that they exercise for at least 20 minutes and get a minimum of 30 minutes of natural daylight every day
  • Having a daily wake-up schedule

Enforce a “No-Phone-Before-Bed” Rule

Phones can disturb sleep due to how they trigger melatonin production and trick the brain into thinking it’s time to be awake. Plus, social media could cause a teen to spiral into negative thoughts when they should be relaxing. To improve or prevent signs of depression, it’s important that they don’t use their phone at bedtime. Instead, you could either invest in an alarm clock or decide to wake them up in the morning. 

Seek Mental Health Advice

If you suspect that your child has a sleep disorder, taking the above steps might not be enough by themselves. Therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help ease the thoughts and emotions that can lead to sleep disturbances and improve sleep quality. A mental health professional can talk to you about the best form of therapy for your child’s experiences. 

The Role of Nutrition and Sleep in Teen Mental Health

When to Seek Support for Teen Nutrition and Sleep Problems

If your child is struggling with diet or sleep issues that are affecting their mental health, you don’t have to figure out how to make changes to their lifestyle by yourself. Nutrition and sleep are key ingredients in a teenager’s well-being, but they’re also often not the only factors. 

Mission Prep’s team of licensed professionals approach mental health treatment with an overarching attitude – considering every facet that could be affecting well-being. Our outpatient and residential treatment centers offer comprehensive care, taking your family’s opinions into consideration every step of the way. Reaching out is the first step towards better mental health. Contact us today to find out more about how Mission Prep can help. 

References

  1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). (2022, October). 2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Child and Adolescent Mental Health. National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK587174/
  2. Herbison, C. E., Hickling, S., Allen, K. L., O’Sullivan, T. A., Robinson, M., Bremner, A. P., Huang, R., Beilin, L. J., Mori, T. A., & Oddy, W. H. (2012). Low intake of B-vitamins is associated with poor adolescent mental health and behaviour. Preventive Medicine, 55(6), 634-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.09.014
  3. Quirk, S. E., Housden, S., Brennan, S. L., Williams, L. J., Pasco, J. A., Berk, M., & Jacka, F. N. (2014). Relationship Between Diet and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Public Health, 104(10), e31. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302110
  4. Jacka, F. N., Maes, M., Pasco, J. A., Williams, L. J., & Berk, M. (2012). Nutrient intakes and the common mental disorders in women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 141(1), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.02.018
  5. Irwin, M. R., & Miller, A. H. (2007). Depressive disorders and immunity: 20 years of progress and discovery. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 21(4), 374–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2007.01.010
  6. Molteni, R., Barnard, R., Ying, Z., Roberts, C., & Gomez-Pinilla, F. (2002). A high-fat, refined sugar diet reduces hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neuronal plasticity, and learning. Neuroscience, 112(4), 803–814. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4522(02)00123-9
  7. Good Food Is Good Medicine. (2022, July 21). Why it’s important for you to drink water and stay hydrated. UC Davis Health. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/why-its-important-for-you-to-drink-water-and-stay-hydrated/2022/07
  8. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (n.d.). Take charge of your health: A guide for teenagers. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/take-charge-health-guide-teenagers
  9. Mehdi, S., Manohar, K., Shariff, A., Kinattingal, N., Din Wani, S. U., Alshehri, S., Imam, M. T., Shakeel, F., & Krishna, K. L. (2023). Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplementation in the Treatment of Depression: An Observational Study. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 13(2), 224. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm13020224
  10. Umeda, K., Shindo, D., Somekawa, S., Nishitani, S., Sato, W., Toyoda, S., Karakawa, S., Kawasaki, M., Mine, T., & Suzuki, K. (2022). Effects of Five Amino Acids (Serine, Alanine, Glutamate, Aspartate, and Tyrosine) on Mental Health in Healthy Office Workers: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Exploratory Trial. Nutrients, 14(11), 2357. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14112357
  11. Guzek, D., Kołota, A., Lachowicz, K., Skolmowska, D., Stachoń, M., & Głąbska, D. (2021). Association between Vitamin D Supplementation and Mental Health in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 10(21), 5156. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10215156
  12. University of Michigan Medicine. (2023, May 26). Could low iron be making your mental health symptoms worse? Department of Psychiatry. https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/psychiatry/news/archive/202305/could-low-iron-be-making-your-mental-health-symptoms-worse
  13. Garey, J. (n.d.). What happens when teenagers don’t get enough sleep? Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/happens-teenagers-dont-get-enough-sleep/
  14. Hafner, M., Stepanek, M., Taylor, J., & Troxel, W. M. (2017). Why sleep matters—The economic costs of insufficient sleep: A cross-country comparative analysis. Rand Health Quarterly, 6(4), 11. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5627640/
  15. UCLA Health. (n.d.). Sleep problems in teens. https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/sleep-disorders/patient-resources/patient-education/sleep-and-teens
  16. Minges, M. M., & Redeker, N. S. (2024). Insomnia and other sleep disorders in adolescence. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 8(1), e001229. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2023-001229




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