Sleep

For Everyone

What to know

Getting sufficient sleep—about 8 to 10 hours a night—during adolescence supports students' physical health, mental health, safety, and ability to focus at school. Too little sleep can make concentrating harder, affect mental health, and increase risky behaviors, especially unsafe driving.
High school student sleeping

At A Glance

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2-year changes and 10-year trends in how high school students are doing on getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.
2-year changes and 10-year trends in how high school students are doing on getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.

Table titled 'At a Glance' showing 2-year changes (2023–2025) and 10-year (2015–2025) trends for one sleep behavior among high school students. Got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night: no change over 2 years, worsened over 10 years.

Summary

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Changes over time in percentage of high school students who got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.
Changes over time in percentage of high school students who got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.

Line chart titled 'Changes Over Time' showing the percentage of high school students who got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night from 2015 to 2025: 27%, 25%, 22%, 23%, 23%, 24%. A callout notes that in 2025, 24% of high school students got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.

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A closer look at 2025 differences in high school students who got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.
A closer look at 2025 differences in high school students who got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.

Bar charts titled 'A Closer Look at 2025 Differences.' Sex and Grade Differences: text notes males were more likely than females to get at least 8 hours of sleep, and 9th and 10th graders were more likely than 11th and 12th graders. By sex — Male 26%, Female 22%. By grade — 9th 31%, 10th 25%, 11th 20%, 12th 20%. Race and Ethnicity Differences: text notes American Indian or Alaska Native students were more likely than most other racial/ethnic groups to get at least 8 hours of sleep. American Indian or Alaska Native 49%, Asian 18%, Black 21%, Hispanic or Latino 25%, Middle Eastern or North African 33%, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander not shown due to small sample size, White 25%, Multiracial 20%.

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Key findings for high school students on getting sleep.
Key findings for high school students on getting sleep.

Infographic titled 'Key Findings for Sleep.' In 2025, about 1 in 4 high school students got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night. Male students were more likely than female students to get the recommended hours of sleep. 9th and 10th grade students were more likely than 11th and 12th grade students to get the recommended hours of sleep. American Indian or Alaska Native students were more likely to get the recommended hours of sleep than most other racial or ethnic groups. From 2023 to 2025, getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night did not change. From 2015 to 2025, fewer students got at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night. Includes a photo of an alarm clock and a photo of a boy sleeping in bed.

The combination of late bedtimes and early school start times means that most students do not get enough sleep. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adolescents aged 13–18 get 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night. Sufficient sleep supports physical health, mental health, attention, behavior, and readiness to learn.

Parents and families are essential in helping adolescents get enough sleep. They can consider:

  • Modeling good sleep habits by setting and maintaining regular wake-up times and bedtimes, including on weekends. Research has also shown that adolescents whose parents set their bedtimes usually get more sleep than those whose parents do not set bedtimes.
  • Setting boundaries on digital media use at night. For example, they can require that all devices be put away at least 1 hour before bedtime.
  • Storing phones overnight outside the bedroom. Storage of digital screens in bedrooms compared to storage in other places is associated with shorter hours of sleep, later bedtimes, and poorer sleep quality.

Schools can also take practical steps to support parents' efforts to help students get the sleep they need. They can consider:

  • Including sleep education in their health curriculum to help students understand why sleep matters and how daily habits can affect sleep quality and duration. Lessons could cover topics such as digital device use before sleep, sleep patterns, sleep disorders, snoring, drowsy driving, and insomnia.
  • Learning about the relationship between school start times and student sleep and working with students, families, and school staff to consider later school start times.
High school student sleeping
High school student sleeping

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Content Source
Adolescent and School Health; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
About This Page
Published:
Updated: August 14, 2026

This page was last updated on this date. Updates may include minor edits, image changes, or other modifications to page content.

Reviewed: September 18, 2026

The information on this page was last reviewed by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy.