Somewhere between the glow of a phone under the blanket and the early bell of a school morning, American adolescence has quietly lost one of its oldest restorers. A long national survey, tracked from 1991 through 2023 and now read by researchers at the University of Minnesota, shows that only about a fifth of older teenagers report getting seven hours of sleep a night, the lowest figure ever recorded. The loss is not spread evenly: it deepens as young people grow older and falls hardest on Black, Latino and less-advantaged families, a reminder that rest, like many goods, follows the lines a so
US Teens Are Sleeping Less Than Ever, With Screens and Social Pressure Taking the Blame
Insufficient sleep is linked to mental health problems, school struggles and chronic illness, with growing disparities among Black, Latino and lower-education teens.
Only 22 percent of older teens say they sleep at least seven hours
Mark
Why does a 22 percent figure matter so much?
Mimi
Because it's for older teens, and it's a record low. Fewer than one in four say they get even seven hours.
Luke
Worth noting that's self-reported. Students told a survey how often they slept seven hours; nobody measured it.
Mark
The study blames screens, but the article seems cautious about that.
Mimi
It lists screens alongside homework, jobs, social pressure and events like the pandemic. And the California research hints at burnout underneath it all.
Luke
Right, and that California work is a separate, student-led project, not part of the Pediatrics analysis. It shouldn't be read as proof of cause.
Mark
What about the gaps by race and parental education?
Mimi
Black and Latino teens and those with less-educated parents are falling further behind in getting adequate sleep.
Luke
The reporting says that's happening, but it doesn't explain why. That's unknown from what we have.
Mark
And the fix?
Mimi
Later school start times, 8:30am or later, are the main one the researchers name.
Luke
Which they frame as one approach, not a cure. They say plainly there's no single nationwide fix.
Le Pouls
- Only 22 percent of older teens now report at least seven hours of sleep, a record low that has the health community alarmed.
- Screens, social media, heavy homework and jobs are crowding the night, while pandemic-era stress and social unrest weigh on young minds.
- Gaps are widening: Black, Latino and lower-education teens are falling behind peers in getting adequate rest.
- Researchers are pressing for high school start times of 8:30am or later, though no single fix exists and the proposal is still being debated.
Somewhere between the glow of a phone under the blanket and the early bell of a school morning, American adolescence has quietly lost one of its oldest restorers. A long national survey, tracked from 1991 through 2023 and now read by researchers at the University of Minnesota, shows that only about a fifth of older teenagers report getting seven hours of sleep a night, the lowest figure ever recorded. The loss is not spread evenly: it deepens as young people grow older and falls hardest on Black, Latino and less-advantaged families, a reminder that rest, like many goods, follows the lines a society has already drawn.
Only 22 percent of older American teenagers now say they sleep at least seven hours a night, the lowest figure ever recorded for that group. The finding comes from a new study by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, published in Pediatrics, drawing on Monitoring the Future, a national survey of more than 400,000 students spanning 1991 to 2023.
The decline appears in every age group, and it is sharpest in the later teen years. Black and Latino teens, along with those whose parents have less education, are increasingly less likely to get adequate sleep than their peers.
Lead author Rachel Widome separates the old pressures from the new. Heavy homework, extracurricular schedules, social pressure to stay up with friends and part-time jobs have long kept teens awake. Constant access to screens and social media, along with the pandemic, social unrest and militarized policing, are more recent burdens.
The costs go beyond tiredness. Poor sleep is tied to mental health problems, trouble at school and chronic illness in adulthood. A separate study led by high school students in California found that about two-thirds of teens reported burnout and anxiety, and about a quarter had time for basic needs like sleep and eating only two days a week or less. Jolie Delja of Aim Youth Mental Health said students linked this to relentless academic pressure and asked for time to slow down.
The researchers see no single nationwide fix, but they point to structural change, chiefly later high school start times of 8:30am or after, which Widome says clash with adolescent biology. A generation short on sleep is not inevitable, she argues, and start times are the proposal to watch.
Only 22 percent of older American teenagers now say they sleep at least seven hours a night. That figure, the lowest ever recorded for the group, comes from a new study by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, published in the journal Pediatrics.
The researchers drew on Monitoring the Future, a long-running national survey that represents more than 400,000 US students in grades eight, 10 and 12. The data span 1991 through 2023. Students answered two main questions: how often they slept at least seven hours a night, and how often they felt they were getting enough rest.
The answers showed a steady decline in sleep across every age category, with the latest figures setting record lows for all groups. The drop was sharpest among older adolescents. Sleep time falls as teens get older, and both the hours they log and their sense of being rested decline markedly between early adolescence and the later teen years.
The study also found widening gaps. Black and Latino teens, along with adolescents whose parents have less education, are becoming less likely over time to get adequate sleep than other groups.
Rachel Widome, the study's lead author and a professor at the School of Public Health, separated old pressures from new ones. Some barriers, she said, have lasted across generations: heavier homework and extracurricular loads in high school, social pressure to stay up late with friends, and jobs. Others are recent, including constant access to screens and social media, and society-wide stressors such as the pandemic, social unrest and militarized policing.
The stakes extend beyond tiredness. Insufficient sleep contributes to everyday exhaustion and impaired functioning, and it is linked to mental health problems, difficulty in school and chronic illness later in adulthood. Other studies have found that teens who go to bed earlier and sleep longer than their peers tend to have sharper mental skills and score better on cognitive tests.
Screen time may look like the obvious culprit, but the underlying cause may be deeper feelings of isolation and burnout. Research led by high school students at Aim Ideas Lab found that roughly two-thirds of California teens reported experiencing burnout and anxiety. About a quarter said they have enough time to meet basic needs such as sleep, eating and hygiene only two days a week or less. Jolie Delja, executive director of Aim Youth Mental Health, said respondents tied this directly to relentless academic pressure. They asked for time to slow down and for chances to practice coping skills such as breathing and mindfulness during calm moments, not only in crisis. Schools and communities, she said, do not need entirely new solutions; they need to give students more time and space for the people, activities and coping tools that already help, including more sleep.
The researchers say no single nationwide fix exists, but they point to structural changes that could reach large numbers of adolescents at once. One is moving high school start times to 8:30am or later. Widome said earlier starts conflict directly with the preset rhythms of adolescent circadian biology. A nation of sleep-deprived adolescents, she added, is not inevitable, and she called for a culture that values sleep and for policies that promote healthy sleep for everyone. Start times are the proposal to watch.
Citations marquantes
A nation of sleep-deprived adolescents is not inevitable.— Rachel Widome, lead author, University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Respondents connected their burnout directly to relentless academic pressure.— Jolie Delja, executive director, Aim Youth Mental Health
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur The Guardian ↗
Education