If you’re constantly hounding your teen to get out of bed before noon on the weekend, you may want to save your energy for a different battle. According to new research published in The Journal of Affective Disorders, sleeping in on the weekend could offer some significant protection against depression.
For the study, researchers at the University of Oregon and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University analyzed data from more than a thousand 16 to 24-year-olds in which participants reported their sleep/waking hours, including weekend catch-up sleep.
While one might imagine that teens who spring out of bed early each morning — regardless of the day of the week— are more mentally sound, the opposite may be true. Interestingly, the study found that teens who slept in on weekends were significantly less likely to report symptoms of depression. The group had a 41% lower risk of depression when compared with the group who kept a more regimented sleep schedule on weekends.
Researchers say that one of the major reasons why sleeping in may be so helpful for teens is because teens stay up later due to changes that occur in adolescence. “Instead of being a morning lark you’re going to become more of a night owl,” Melynda Casement, an associate professor at University of Oregon and co-author of the study, told ScienceDaily. Casement adds that later bedtimes usually last until around the age of 18 or 20 before leveling out.
Later bedtimes, coupled with early school start times, extra-curriculars, part-time jobs, and more, mean teens often accumulate “sleep debt” which puts them at a heightened risk for depression. Casement says that while teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep, most aren’t getting it during the week, therefore extra weekend sleep matters. “It’s normal for teens to be night owls, so let them catch up on sleep on weekends if they can’t get enough sleep during the week because that’s likely to be somewhat protective,” the researcher explains.
The latest study builds on previous research on the topic, including a 2025 meta-analysis of 10 studies which showed sleeping in on the weekend was associated with a 20% lower risk of depression. The growing body of research seems to show that sleeping in is not an act of laziness or teenage rebellion, but it can be a healthy and important sleep habit for teens in order to stave off depression. And, as teen mental health has worsened in recent years, those extra weekend hours could be more crucial than ever.