How Sleep Keeps Depression in Check During Teens
Official title: The Importance of Sleep for Prediction of Depression in Adolescence
Funded at Stanford University · NIH-11167163 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant looks at how sleep patterns in teenagers relate to predicting and preventing depression by using big data and deep-learning analyses of adolescent brain and behavior.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $977,740 |
| NIH project number | 1R01MH140425-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11167163 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents and young adults ages roughly 9 to 21 who are part of or at risk for depression, or whose sleep patterns and neurodevelopment are being studied.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not represented in the datasets (e.g., outside the age range or not accessible to the longitudinal cohorts) may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
Teenagers experience a sharp rise in depression, especially around ages 17, and this project uses two large public datasets to study how sleep affects risk. Researchers will analyze how brain development, sleep habits, and social factors interact, with attention to differences between sexes. A novel deep-learning approach will integrate neurobiological and behavioral data over time to identify early signals that precede depressive symptoms. The goal is to uncover modifiable sleep behaviors that could serve as targets for prevention and early intervention.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could lead to sleep-focused strategies that reduce depression risk and improve mental health outcomes for adolescents.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work with large adolescent cohorts has shown sleep and neural markers relate to mood changes, supporting the potential for meaningful findings in this study.
Where this research is happening
-
Stanford University
Stanford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pohl, Kilian Maria — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Pohl, Kilian Maria
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.