Every morning, thousands of teenagers around the world battle the same issue: exhaustion. With last-minute studying, homework, extracurriculars, and even just mindlessly scrolling on TikTok being at the top of our priority lists, our sleep schedules often pay the price. Teenage years are essential sleep-reliant periods of growth where we enter the second developmental stage of cognitive maturation, developing physically, mentally, and emotionally. Those between the ages of thirteen to eighteen should be getting a minimum of nine hours of sleep each night to properly supplement this growth. However, very few of us are actually hitting this threshold. According to a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the average teenager gets approximately 7.4 hours of sleep per night, with fewer than 23% getting above eight hours. 

This widespread lack of sleep is not a shortcoming of teens but a result of biological and societal factors. Following puberty, there is a biological shift in a teen’s internal clock by two hours. For example, a teen who had previously gone to bed at 10 P.M. would be unable to fall asleep until midnight and would be inclined to wake up two hours later than normal. Unfortunately, this scientific shift in teenage sleep schedules is not supported by the day-to-day demands of life. Even though teens’ sleep schedules have shifted later into the night, school start times are earlier as students enter high school. With the average school district starting at around 8:00 A.M., many students must wake up as early as 6:00 to get ready and commute. Not only that, social and school obligations only further push back bedtimes, as students are forced to stay up due to homework, sports, and extracurricular activities. 

 This chronic sleep deprivation has major repercussions on our brain. Sleep does more than just allow us to rest; it is an active biological process during which the brain consolidates information, clears out toxins, and strengthens neural connections. The hippocampus, a region critical for memory, is particularly affected. According to researchers at the National Institutes of Health, sleep-deprived teens have weaker recall and slower information processing. So the next time you stay up late to study for a test, keep in mind that it may actually be doing you more harm than good by hindering the amount of information you can remember the next day. To make matters worse, less sleep causes the prefrontal cortex—governing decision-making and self-control—to become less active and the amygdala—responsible for emotional responses—to become overactive. This imbalance can lead to irritability, anxiety, and impulsivity.

Sleeplessness also leads to an increased risk of mental health issues. A 2023 study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that adolescents who consistently slept fewer than seven hours had a 42% higher chance of experiencing depressive symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts than those who slept eight or more.

So how can we optimize our sleep to stay healthy and rested despite these challenges? First, remaining consistent with your sleep schedule is key, so it is important to try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Second, avoiding oversleeping during the weekends is crucial. While waking up a bit later may help you catch up on your sleep, sleeping until noon or later will make it difficult for you to return to a normal sleep schedule during the week. Third, taking naps during the afternoon can be beneficial, even sleeping for just an extra 15–20 minutes during the day. Lastly, we must try to avoid looking at devices at least thirty minutes prior to bedtime. The blue light coming from our phones messes with our sleep hormones, making it more difficult to fall asleep. 

At the end of the day, sleep should be our number one priority. When it comes down to it, an extra hour of rest will help you more than an extra hour of studying, socializing, or anything else. As research continues to prove, protecting sleep means protecting the teenage brain itself.