More than 90 percent of American high school students are chronically sleep-deprived, putting their health and academic performance in jeopardy, a new report finds.
The study, based on U.S. national data, finds that most teens don't get the minimum 9 to 10 hours of sleep per night that's recommended by standard guidelines.
Teenagers do face a number of challenges as they try to get adequate sleep, experts say.
"I don't believe there's one culprit," said the study's lead author, Charles Basch, a professor of health and education at the Teacher's College at Columbia University in New York City.
"For some children it's too much homework, for some it's health problems like asthma," he explained. "For others it may be anxiety or depression, or the prescription medications they are taking for such conditions. Recreational drugs can be a factor, as can having electronics in the bedroom."
Whatever the reason, government surveys show that poor sleep is an ongoing issue for most teenagers.
[For more of this story, written by Alan Mozes, go to http://medicalxpress.com/news/...-teens-deprived.html]
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