March 7, 2026

Teen sleep is getting wrecked by more than just phones

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Regina G. Barber, Katia Riddle, Arundathi Nair & Berly McCoy
Article origination NPR Service
Are US teens getting enough sleep? A new study shows that high school students' sleep is getting worse, with over three-quarters of them getting less than seven hours each night. - Antonio Guillem / Getty Images

Are US teens getting enough sleep? A new study shows that high school students' sleep is getting worse, with over three-quarters of them getting less than seven hours each night.

Antonio Guillem / Getty Images

 

Teens aren't getting enough sleep! And a two-decade study suggests it's getting worse. Scientists found that the number of high schoolers getting insufficient sleep — less than seven hours a night — has increased from 69% to 77%. The throughline? There wasn't one. Teens had bad sleep habits across most demographics, including race, gender and grade level. The findings were published this week in the journal JAMA.

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This episode was produced by Arundathi Nair, Jordan-Marie Smith, and Berly McCoy. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineers were Becky Brown and Jimmy Keeley.

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