Student sleep statistics show that getting eight hours on a school night is uncommon among U.S. high school students. In the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 23% reported at least eight hours of sleep on an average school night. Earlier CDC data measured the same issue as short sleep, defined as less than eight hours, and show differences by grade, demographic group, state, and school district.
Contents
- The latest U.S. high school sleep figures
- Differences by grade, sex, and race or ethnicity
- Sleep trends by sex from 2013 to 2023
- Racial and ethnic trends from 2013 to 2021
- Variation across states and school districts
- Sleep, mental health, and schoolwork in 2021
The latest U.S. high school sleep figures
The latest figures in the supplied CDC trend report are from 2023. They describe self-reported sleep on an average school night, not a clinical measurement or a sleep-laboratory result. Overall, 23% of U.S. high school students got at least eight hours. That means the measure describes the share reaching the eight-hour threshold; it does not report an average number of hours slept.
The 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report for Dietary, Physical Activity, and Sleep Behaviors: 2013–2023 reports the following group estimates:
- 22% of male students got at least eight hours.
- 25% of female students got at least eight hours.
- 19% of American Indian or Alaska Native students got at least eight hours.
- 25% of Asian students got at least eight hours.
- 19% of Black students got at least eight hours.
- 24% of Hispanic students got at least eight hours.
- 36% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students got at least eight hours.
- 26% of White students got at least eight hours.
- 17% of multiracial students got at least eight hours.
- 25% of cisgender and heterosexual students got at least eight hours.
- 16% of LGBTQ+ students got at least eight hours.
These percentages should be read as survey estimates for the named groups in 2023. They do not establish why the groups differ, and they should not be treated as a diagnosis of sleep deprivation for an individual student.
Differences by grade, sex, and race or ethnicity
The 2015 national YRBS used the complementary measure of short sleep: less than eight hours on an average school night. In that survey, 72.7% of U.S. high school students reported short sleep. The estimate was 75.6% for female students and 69.9% for male students.
Grade-level results showed a step-up in reported short sleep across the high school years:
| Student group, 2015 national YRBS | Short sleep, less than 8 hours |
|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 65.6% |
| Grade 10 | 71.7% |
| Grade 11 | 77.1% |
| Grade 12 | 77.6% |
The 2015 estimate was 72.0% among non-Hispanic White students, 76.5% among non-Hispanic Black students, and 70.2% among Hispanic students. Because these figures come from a 2015 national survey and use the short-sleep definition, they should not be substituted directly for the 2023 at-least-eight-hours figures. They are useful together because both describe the eight-hour boundary, but the survey years and reporting formats are different.
For study planning, the grade pattern is a reminder that a single student-sleep statistic can hide meaningful variation. The 2015 data do not say that every older student sleeps less, nor do they identify a cause. They show only the percentage in each reported grade group who said they slept less than eight hours on an average school night.
Sleep trends by sex from 2013 to 2023
The CDC trend report provides a decade of estimates for male and female high school students who got at least eight hours of sleep. The percentages changed over time rather than staying at one level.
| Survey year | Female students | Male students |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 29% | 35% |
| 2015 | 26% | 31% |
| 2017 | 27% | 28% |
| 2019 | 23% | 26% |
| 2021 | 23% | 27% |
| 2023 | 22% | 25% |
Among female students, the reported share was 29% in 2013, 26% in 2015, 27% in 2017, 23% in 2019, 23% in 2021, and 22% in 2023. Among male students, the share was 35% in 2013, 31% in 2015, 28% in 2017, 26% in 2019, 27% in 2021, and 25% in 2023.
The 2023 sex-specific values in this series are 22% for male students and 25% for female students, while the overall 2023 estimate is 23%. The report’s category labels and the survey’s self-reported measure matter: these are percentages meeting an eight-hour cutoff, not estimates of total sleep time, sleep quality, or the number of nights when a student met the cutoff.
Racial and ethnic trends from 2013 to 2021
The same CDC report gives at-least-eight-hours estimates for several racial and ethnic groups in 2013 and 2021. In 2013, the estimates were 26% for Asian students, 28% for Black students, 33% for Hispanic students, 32% for White students, and 30% for multiracial students.
In 2021, the estimates were 21% for Asian students, 18% for Black students, 25% for Hispanic students, 25% for White students, and 20% for multiracial students. The two survey years therefore provide a point-in-time comparison for each named group:
- Asian students: 26% in 2013 and 21% in 2021.
- Black students: 28% in 2013 and 18% in 2021.
- Hispanic students: 33% in 2013 and 25% in 2021.
- White students: 32% in 2013 and 25% in 2021.
- Multiracial students: 30% in 2013 and 20% in 2021.
These are reported percentages for the two survey years, not a continuous annual series. The data show the values at 2013 and 2021 but do not, by themselves, explain the changes between those years. They also do not support conclusions about an individual student based only on group membership.
Variation across states and school districts
The CDC’s 2015 analysis also reported jurisdiction-specific estimates. Among the listed states, the share of high school students reporting short sleep was 80.1% in Connecticut, 79.8% in Michigan, 67.4% in Montana, 68.3% in New Mexico, 76.2% in Maryland, and 78.1% in New York.
The listed school-district estimates were lower in the two named California districts: 54.2% of Los Angeles high school students and 50.2% of San Francisco high school students reported short sleep in 2015.
| 2015 jurisdiction | Students reporting short sleep |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | 80.1% |
| Michigan | 79.8% |
| Montana | 67.4% |
| New Mexico | 68.3% |
| Maryland | 76.2% |
| New York | 78.1% |
| Los Angeles, California | 54.2% |
| San Francisco, California | 50.2% |
The state and district figures are not one combined national estimate. They are jurisdiction-specific estimates from 2015, and the district values should not be interpreted as state-wide California values. Differences in survey administration, local populations, and the jurisdictions represented can affect how these percentages should be compared.
Sleep, mental health, and schoolwork in 2021
The January–June 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey examined grades 9–12 students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In that survey, 76.5% of U.S. high school students had short sleep duration. Separately, 66.6% reported more difficulty doing schoolwork during the pandemic than before it, and 37.1% reported poor mental health during the pandemic.
The study also reported poor-mental-health percentages by sleep duration. Poor mental health was reported by 25.2% of students who met the sleep recommendation, compared with 49.1% of students who slept five hours and 55.9% of students who slept four hours or less on an average school night.
For schoolwork difficulty, the study reported prevalence ratios compared with students sleeping at least eight hours:
- Students sleeping six hours had a prevalence ratio of 1.17 for reporting more difficulty doing schoolwork.
- Students sleeping five hours had a prevalence ratio of 1.18.
- Students sleeping four hours or less had a prevalence ratio of 1.20.
The prevalence ratios describe an association in the January–June 2021 survey. They are not causal effects, so the figures do not prove that a particular amount of sleep caused schoolwork difficulty or poor mental health. The survey period also matters: these estimates describe students surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic, not all students in every year.
Taken together, the CDC sources describe several related but distinct measurements: at least eight hours, short sleep below eight hours, poor mental health, and increased difficulty doing schoolwork. Keeping the threshold, survey year, geography, and population visible is essential when using student sleep statistics for study tips, school planning, or comparisons.
Sources: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report for Dietary, Physical Activity, and Sleep Behaviors: 2013–2023; Short Sleep Duration Among Middle School and High School Students — United States, 2015; Sleep Duration, Mental Health, and Increased Difficulty Doing Schoolwork Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.