Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – A new study reinforces the health benefits of getting kids to bed early.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York said in a recent report that adolescents with bedtimes set earlier by parents were significantly less likely to suffer from depression and to have suicidal thoughts.

The researchers said in a statement that adolescents with bedtimes of midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to suffer from depression and 20 percent more likely to think about committing suicide than peers who normally go to bed at 10 p.m. or earlier.

Adolescents who reported that they typically get five hours or less of sleep a night were more than 70 percent more likely to have depression and 48 percent more likely to think about suicide.

The researchers said in a statement that the report shows sleep duration could play a role in the formation of one’s depression.

The report is published in the Jan.1 edition of the journal Sleep.