Early school hours, heavy homework, activities, and busy social lives are cutting into teens’ sleep.
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A JAMA study of 120,000 teens reveals that over half now sleep fewer than five hours nightly, the highest rate ever recorded. Surprisingly, sleep loss isn’t limited to at-risk groups; structural factors like early school schedules, academic pressure, and circadian shifts are fueling the crisis. The findings call for systemic solutions, not just individual fixes.
Latest research has found that teens in the US are getting less than 5 hours of sleep. The research that The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published in March 2026 has added new information on this matter by using the data collected nationally within a period of 16 years from over 120,000 young people.
The findings from this research show that certain assumptions regarding the causes of the crisis should be reassessed.
While the study was done on American teens, this phenomenon holds true for teens and young people globally.
(JAMA) examined sleep data of 120,950 US high school students gleaned from a nationally representative survey across a 16-year window, 2007 to 2023. In a startling finding, the proportion of teens who reported insufficient sleep, defined as seven hours or fewer on a school night, has reportedly risen from 69 per cent to 77 per cent.1
Nonetheless, it was the percentage increase that raised eyebrows. The latest survey reveals that more than 50% of teens report getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night. This is what the researchers classify as very short sleep, and according to them, it is the highest ever recorded rate in this survey series.
A teenager getting five hours of sleep. The recommended sleep time for this age group is 8 to 10 hours, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Never before has the gap between what adolescents need and what they are getting been greater.
The most significant, and surprising, part of the study was not the numbers themselves. It was what drove them.
Researchers expected to find that the worst sleep deprivation was concentrated among teenagers with known behavioral risk factors such as those who reported heavy electronic media use, depression symptoms, substance use, sedentary behavior, or experiences of bullying and violence.
The logic was straightforward. These are the teens most likely to have disrupted sleep, and they were expected to be pulling the overall numbers down.
What they found instead was that insufficient sleep increased as much or more among students without any of these behavioral risk factors,
suggesting that structural and environmental factors affecting most adolescents, rather than specific individual behaviors, are driving the widespread sleep loss.
The authors of the paper concluded that these trends could warrant a population-level intervention rather than a high-risk one.
It is an impactful reframe. The conventional response to teenage sleep deprivation has always been individual-level, which included - take away the phone at bedtime, enforce a sleep schedule, counsel the at-risk teen.
The new evidence suggests that won't be nearly enough, because the problem isn't concentrated in at-risk groups it's everywhere.
The increase was seen across demographics, but not everyone was impacted equally. Students at various levels, gender, and diverse racial and ethnic background reported not getting enough sleep but the nonlinear Hispanic Black students saw the steepest rise of sleeping five hours sleep or less.
According to a report by Psychiatry Advisor, teens who reported being bullied or victimized, as well as those with depression and suicidal thoughts, were more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation.
While the gap between low- and high-risk teens narrowed, the most at-risk group tends to sleep the least. The mental health suffering layered on top of sleep deprivation complicates the problem. Poor sleep, the result of depression and anxiety, makes depression and anxiety worse and vice versa.
The shifting picture in gender during that period. The percentage of male students who received at least eight hours of sleep in 2013 was reduce to 25 per cent in 2023 as seen in survey.
For female students it dropped from 29% to 22%. Boys are sleeping worse than they were a decade ago. Girls were already sleeping less and have continued that trajectory.
The study's most provocative implication is what it says about the standard advice parents and schools have been offering for years. If the steepest rise in sleep deprivation is happening among teenagers who aren't heavy screen users, who aren't depressed, who aren't engaging in risky behaviours, then the phone on the nightstand can't be the full explanation.
Researchers point instead to structural factors: Early school start times that force teenagers to wake at biologically inappropriate hours; academic pressure that pushes homework and study late into the night; the cumulative weight of a social environment that has become relentlessly demanding.
The problem was flagged as far back as 1905, when a study in The Lancet worried about British boarding school boys not getting enough sleep due to nighttime lighting, and suggested that late to bed and early to rise is neither physiological nor wise. Over a century later, the concern has only deepened.
Adolescent biology is part of the picture too. The teenage brain undergoes a natural circadian shift biological rewiring that pushes the internal clock later.
This makes it genuinely harder for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 pm and harder to wake at 6 am.
Schools’ action against kids’ biology, the natural sleep time, in the form of earlier and earlier start times, worsen this problem. Even if kids do their level best to get enough sleep and don’t take their phones to bed, they don’t get enough sleep.
The consequences of chronic sleep deprivation in adolescence extend well beyond feeling tired in first period.
Insufficient sleep is associated with worse cognitive performance and academic achievement, as well as depression, other mental health conditions, and physical health concerns.
Teenagers experience sleep loss risks because their brains develop with incomplete prefrontal cortex development which controls their impulse management and emotional control and their ability to plan.
The high school period requires sleep to support memory consolidation because students experience the most demanding academic load during this time. A teenager who sleeps five hours shows more than just fatigue because their brain function suffers along with their ability to control emotions and their chances of developing anxiety and depression increase.
The physical consequences exist as actual problems. Adolescents who sleep less than required face heightened chances of developing obesity and metabolic disorders and their immune defenses become less effective and their blood pressure increases.
A generation of teenagers who experience chronic sleep deprivation brings about a population that faces greater chances of developing chronic illnesses during their adult years.
Individual interventions won't fix a population-level problem. The most effective changes require implementation across entire systems through later school start times and decreased academic demands and cultural messages which establish sleep as an important requirement instead of an avoidable need.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30am for years, citing the same biological evidence about adolescent circadian shifts.
The process of implementing the plan has experienced delays. The JAMA study adds fresh urgency to that recommendation.
The practical message for parents contains multiple layers of complexity. Parents should continue to restrict their children's screen time before bed because it produces negative effects. The broader environment in which a teenager is living, learning, and socializing matters just as much as what time their phone goes dark.
Sleep is not a luxury for teenagers. The biological foundation of sleep serves as the essential base which supports mood development and learning activities and physical health and mental resilience. The problem exists because multiple systems need to be improved.
What are the main causes of decreased sleep among adolescents beyond screen time?
Recent research indicates that structural and environmental factors such as early school start times, academic pressure, and societal demands are primary causes of adolescent sleep deprivation. Additionally, biological changes in teens' circadian rhythms naturally delay sleep onset, making early wake times especially disruptive. These factors affect most adolescents, not just those with heavy screen use or behavioral risks.
How does adolescent biology affect their sleep patterns?
During adolescence, the brain undergoes a circadian shift that delays the internal clock, making it harder for teens to fall asleep before 11 pm. This natural biological change conflicts with early school start times, reducing total sleep duration despite teens’ efforts to rest adequately.
What are the consequences of insufficient sleep for teenagers' health and academic performance?
Chronic sleep deprivation in teens leads to poorer cognitive function, lower academic achievement, increased risks of depression and anxiety, and impaired emotional regulation. Physically, it raises risks for obesity, metabolic disorders, weakened immunity, and elevated blood pressure, potentially causing long-term health issues.
Why aren't individual actions like limiting phone use enough to solve teen sleep deprivation?
While reducing screen time before bed helps, it addresses only part of the issue. The study showed sleep loss rising even among teens without heavy device use or behavioral risks, highlighting the need for systemic changes like later school start times and lighter academic loads to improve sleep for all adolescents.
What population-level solutions are recommended to improve adolescent sleep?
Experts recommend implementing later school start times (no earlier than 8:30 am), reducing academic pressures, and promoting cultural shifts that value sleep as essential. These systemic interventions target broad environmental factors contributing to widespread sleep deprivation rather than focusing solely on at-risk individuals.
References:
1. Medical News Today | Insufficient Sleep Among US Adolescents Across Behavioral Risk Groups
Disclaimer: This content is for general informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with any questions about your health or treatment options.
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