American teenagers are sleeping less than any previous generation, according to new research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The findings paint a stark picture of youth exhaustion, with only 22% of older adolescents reporting they get at least seven hours of sleep on a typical night.
Researchers analyzed three decades of data from the Monitoring the Future survey, tracking sleep patterns among over 400,000 U.S. students in grades 8, 10, and 12 from 1991 through 2023. The decline was consistent across every age group, with the steepest drops occurring in older teenagers. The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.
The causes are both old and new. Homework, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and social pressure have long competed for teen sleep time. But today's landscape includes relentless screen exposure and social media use, compounded by pandemic-related stress and anxiety about social issues that weigh on young minds.
Rachel Widome, the lead researcher, noted that the barriers go beyond the obvious. "Other issues, though, are new in recent years, such as increasingly ever-present screens and social media as well as recent society-wide stressors such as the pandemic, social unrest or militarized policing," she said.
The sleep crisis is not hitting all teenagers equally. Black and Latino adolescents, along with those whose parents have less education, face widening gaps in adequate sleep compared to their peers. The disparity suggests that structural inequality compounds the exhaustion problem.
The deeper driver behind the numbers
While scrolling through social media seems like an obvious culprit, recent research suggests burnout and social isolation run deeper. A student-led study by Aim Ideas Lab found that roughly two-thirds of California high school students reported experiencing burnout and anxiety. About a quarter said they only had time to handle basic needs like sleep, eating, and hygiene two days a week or less.
Jolie Delja, executive director of Aim Youth Mental Health, heard directly from students about what they need. "They connected this directly to relentless academic pressure," Delja said. "They asked for time to slow down, and the chance to learn and practice coping skills like breathing and mindfulness during calm moments, not just crisis ones."
The health consequences extend far beyond daily grogginess. Chronic sleep deprivation in teens is linked to mental health problems, academic struggles, and chronic illnesses in adulthood. Research has shown that teenagers who sleep longer and go to bed earlier than their peers perform better on cognitive tests and have sharper mental function.
Widome suggested one policy change that could help: pushing high school start times to 8:30 a.m. or later. Adolescent circadian biology naturally shifts later during the teenage years, making early school starts biologically misaligned with how teens function. "Earlier starts are in direct conflict with preset rhythms of adolescent circadian biology," she explained.
The researcher rejected the notion that teen sleep deprivation is inevitable. "A nation of sleep-deprived adolescents is not inevitable," Widome said. "We should embrace a culture of sleep, where sleep is actually valued and where we commit to enacting policies and other interventions that promote healthy sleep for everyone."
Author James Rodriguez: "The data should alarm parents and policymakers, but Widome's point about school start times feels like the one lever schools could actually pull without waiting for some national breakthrough in teen behavior."
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