Too little sleep may add to teen health problems

families, they wanted to look at any differences by race because two studies of middle-aged adults suggested that blacks had worse sleep than whites. “Thus, we conducted our study at an integrated high school that had black and white students of similar economic backgrounds,” Matthews added.

The researchers had the students complete questionnaires and keep a diary of the length and quality of their sleep. At night, the teens were hooked up to an electronic device that monitored their sleep.

On school nights, the teens slept about six hours, and on the weekend, about seven hours. Matthews’ team found that blacks and males slept less than other kids, and their sleep was more fragmented. Girls reported poorer quality of sleep and said they were often tired during the day.

The researchers previously reported that insufficient sleep is linked to higher blood pressure and insulin resistance, a risk factor for diabetes.