Teen sleep is getting wrecked by more than just phones episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 6, 2026 · 8 MIN

Teen sleep is getting wrecked by more than just phones

from Short Wave

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.Interested in more science behind recent headlines? Email us your question at [email protected] more about earthquake science – and the Cascadia Fault in particular – check out our recent episode on the Pacific Northwest’s Big One.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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Teen sleep is getting wrecked by more than just phones

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