Is Your Teen Getting Enough Sleep? Make an Appointment Ask a Question Search Conditions National Jewish Health sleep expert Lisa Meltzer, MD, explains why 45 percent of teens don’t get enough sleep for physiological reasons. Related Videos Sleepless? 5 Expert Tips to Help You Get Sleepy What Is Insomnia and How Does It Affect You? Long Term Effects of Insomnia on Health Tips to Stop Insomnia and Get Back to Sleep Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Helps Treat Insomnia Study: After Watching Disturbing Video, CPAP Usage Soars Is My Snoring Dangerous? Video Transcript 45 percent of teens don’t get enough sleep. Melatonin helps regulate sleep. Our experts found that for teens, melatonin production shifts by 2 hours. This causes teens to fall asleep later, and not get the 9 hours of rest they need before school. It’s not just that they don’t want to or that they have a lot of activities or Facebook or homework time, which they do as well, but they physiologically can’t fall asleep earlier anymore. Research is leading to changes in school start times across the country. Talk to your doctor if your teen isn’t getting enough sleep. Want to use this on your website? Fill out the content usage request form and then copy this code: