By michael - March, 9th 2014

Most teens need about 8½ to more than 9 hours of sleep each night. But about 1 in 4 teens has trouble sleeping. Lack of sleep can affect everything from our emotions to how well we focus on tasks like driving. It can affect sports performance, increase our chances of getting sick, and may be linked to weight gain in some people.

A 15-year-old fumbling through a “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay until 11 p.m.? There's a scene that's been happening for decades. A teen finishing the essay and staying up hours later to text friends, play video games and scroll through Facebook? That's a relatively new picture, and one that challenges the quantity and quality of sleep for kids today.

The National Sleep Foundation's annual “Sleep in America” poll, released today, shows that many kids aren't getting enough sleep, and that late-night access to all these electronic devices sure isn't helping. The foundation recommends 11 hours of sleep for kids ages 6 through 10 and 8.5 to 9.5 hours for kids ages 11 through 17, but the parents surveyed in the 2014 poll say their kids typically get less than those recommendations. Some of the sleep challenges are old school: 34 percent of parents cite evening activities, and 28 percent report homework. But some are new: …

Everyone has a sleepless night once in a while. But if you regularly have trouble sleeping and you think it's affecting your mood or performance, talk to your doctor.

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