Experts long have told us that kids and teens need their sleep—more sleep than adults do. Now, there’s more reason to encourage youth to get some extra shuteye. According to a study from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, teens who don’t get enough sleep are four times more likely to develop clinical depression by the time they’re 18.

Unfortunately, the trend is also cyclical: Depressed teens are also four times more likely to complain of losing sleep.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teens should get nine to 10 hours of sleep a night. Only about three out of every 10 teens actually get that sort of sleep, however. (National Public Radio)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.