If you think you’re not getting enough sleep, maybe you should look at your kids.


In light of reports of a teen sleep deprivation epidemic[1] , researchers at University of California, Berkeley are undertaking what they say is the largest and most comprehensive study on teen sleep yet.


During the four-year study, researchers are working with hundreds of 10 to 18-year-olds who have trouble falling asleep and waking up.


“Adults are good with eight hours of sleep, but because teenage minds and bodies are developing so rapidly, they should be getting about nine,” explained Allison Harvey, the principle investigator in the study and a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, to The Huffington Post.


During each semester of the ongoing study, researchers invite several dozen teens who suffer from sleep deprivation to a “slumber party” on campus. Teens are then paired with "sleep coaches" who monitor hormone levels and sleeping habits and patterns. The teens also attend workshops about habits to promote a good night's rest, including meditation, creating a tech-free zone and other methods outlined in the slideshow below.


After the slumber party, teens spend six weeks working with their sleep coaches and practicing the better sleep habits. When the six weeks are up, teens return for another slumber party where progress is measured.


While the habits may sound simple, Harvey and her team are hoping to discover if chronic sleep deprivation can be cured by behavioral changes alone.



“Everyone reaches for drugs so quickly,” explained Harvey. “But what we’re really interested are non-drug treatments that can last a lifetime.”


Harvey told HuffPost that, while methods such as meditation have proven to be effective in promoting sleep, little is known about the extent.


“They’ve already been shown to be effective in small studies,” said Harvey. “But we’re hoping to see just how effective.”


Harvey also hopes that with concrete results, researchers might have a stronger case for pushing back school start times, which they argue are too early.


The National Sleep Foundation suggests that most teens get nine hours and 15 minutes per night[2] , and recent studies have tied sleep deprivation to depression[3] , obesity[4] , heart disease[5] and low birth weight[6] . A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that only 8 percent of teens[7] were getting the recommend amount of sleep.


"It's very, very clear," said Harvey. "We think better and we feel better when we're sleeping well."




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  • A tech-free zone


    According to Harvey, the constant availability of technology might be affecting how teens sleep. "Charge the phone in the kitchen, not in the bedroom," she says. "Creating a tech-free zone for sleep is important."




  • Winding Down


    Researching are using nightly wind-down methods such as meditation, yoga or walking in nature to encourage relaxation and sleep.




  • Dimming the lights


    It may sound simple, but according to Harvey, the flicker of a television or computer screen can rob our eyes of critical darkness.




  • Waking up early on weekends


    While it may be tempting to catch up on weekends, Harvey says the disparity between sleeping times on weekdays and weekends can create a feeling of jet-lag. Many of these teens are waking up at seven on weekdays and sleeping until 11 on weekends," she told HuffPost. "That's like recovering from a flight from San Francisco to New York every Monday."