Research on Sleep Deprivation and Teen Mental Health

A paper published in Sleep Science and Practice examined the impact of sleep deprivation on teenagers and explored potential interventions to support them.

The study found that many teens are not getting enough quality sleep, and this can harm their mental, physical, and social health. Common causes include natural body clock changes during puberty, early school start times, excessive homework, and late-night use of phones or social media.

More specifically, teens who don’t sleep enough are at a greater risk of depression, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. It also affects learning, memory, and focus, which makes it harder to do well in school.

Sleep-deprived teens may take more risks, such as using alcohol or drugs, and are more likely to get injured in sports, while driving, or at work. Sleep problems can also harm family life and cause more stress for parents and caregivers.

This study paves the way for better strategies to protect our teens’ mental health through improved sleep habits.

Understanding the Research

To understand how sleep deprivation affects teenagers, researchers reviewed many scientific studies from 2013 to 2023. They searched the PubMed database using relevant keywords, and they only included studies focused on teenagers.

Then they removed studies that didn’t fit, such as ones with non-human participants, not in English, not about teenagers, or unrelated to the topic. This left them with 133 studies.

Finally, after another check, they excluded 36 more that didn’t meet their rules (such as being too old, not related to mental health, or not focused on teen sleep).

In the end, they used the remaining set of studies (those that were current, relevant, and about adolescents) to form their findings.

Here’s what the study found:

• Most high school students (68.4%) in the United States sleep less than 7 hours a night, which is below the recommended 8–10 hours.
• Poor sleep quality is common. Many struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, or feel rested. This lack of quality sleep has been tied to anxiety, mood swings, and even substance use.
• Teens averaging less than 6 hours of sleep a night reported more stress, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. They also performed worse in school and were at higher risk of obesity.
• The pandemic made sleep problems worse. During COVID-19, many teens reported higher anxiety, more screen time, and poor sleep quality.
• Sleep deprivation is linked not only to depression and anxiety but also to poorer grades, more risk-taking (like alcohol or drug use), and even physical health issues such as weight gain and cardiovascular risks.

Practical Strategies for Parents and Caregivers

If lack of sleep is such a big problem for teens, the question becomes: What can parents and caregivers actually do to help? Here are simple steps families can take right now to support healthier sleep.

Set a regular bedtime

For example, if your teen goes to bed at 10:00 PM and wakes up at 6:30 AM on school nights, try to keep the same schedule on weekends instead of staying up late and sleeping in. Remember to pick hours that give your teen 8–10 hours of sleep. 

Limit screens

The blue light from phones and tablets tricks the brain into staying awake. Turning off devices an hour before bed helps teens fall asleep faster. 

However, many teens worry about missing important notifications from friends or school. A good solution is to set clear boundaries:

• Show your teen how to silence non-urgent alerts while still allowing calls or texts from close family.
• Set tech-free zones. For example, keep phones charging outside the bedroom at night to remove the temptation of late-night scrolling.
• Decide together what time devices should be put away, like 9:00 PM on school nights.
• Talk about the “why.” Help your teen understand that sleep is more important than seeing every message right away. Friends and group chats can wait until morning.

Encourage physical activity

Regular exercise during the day helps teens fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply. To get started, encourage your teen to find an activity they actually enjoy — that way it feels fun, not like a chore. Exercise doesn’t have to mean going to the gym.

Some good options include sports, outdoor fun such as biking, creative movement like dance, or everyday activities such as taking the stairs.

Another important recommendation highlighted in the paper was the idea of delaying school start times. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, we have a separate research summary that explores delayed school start times in detail.

You can also support your teen by using helpful visuals at home. Download our Healthy Habits Posters.