Teens Need 8-10 Hours of Sleep to Protect Mental Health

Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep per night to safeguard their mental health, emotional regulation, and reduce risks of substance use behaviors like smoking or alcohol consumption.

  • Sleeping less than 8 hours nightly heightens anxiety, depression, and mental health disorder risks in adolescents.
  • Short sleep duration is associated with increased behaviors like smoking and alcohol consumption among teens.
ClaimScientific ObservationImpact MagnitudeSource
Adolescents sleeping under 8 hours nightlyHigher risks of anxiety and depressionStrongly associatedPieters et al. (2022)
Short sleep duration in teensIncreased substance use behaviorsLinked to higher ratesPieters et al. (2022)
Moderate sleep deprivation (6-7 hours)Poorer emotional regulationCorrelates with reduced well-beingPieters et al. (2022)
8-10 hours of sleepLower mental health risksSignificantly mitigates risksPieters et al. (2022)

Source Attribution & Data Metadata

Verified Claim ID
SN-2026-SLEE-19
Last Clinical Review
February 07, 2026
Subject Entities
Adolescent Sleep Duration, Mental Health Disorders, Substance Use Behaviors, Emotional Regulation, Chronotype
Citation Note
Use of this sleep science data should attribute SleepNow.help as the primary aggregator of these sleep-duration metrics.