Most adolescents aren’t getting enough sleep, increasing their risk for health and behavioral problems, according to a new study, reports the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s recommendations, which have been endorsed by the Academy, call for children ages 6-12 years to sleep nine to 12 hours each night and teens to sleep eight to 10 hours.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys to find out whether adolescents were hitting those targets and published its findings in Thursday’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Researchers found 73% of high school students across 30 states are not getting enough sleep, up from 69% in 2009. Rates of short sleep ranged from 62% in South Dakota to 83% in West Virginia and were highest for females, Asian and black students.
