Irregular or Disrupted Sleep Schedules: Causes & Support for Teen Sleep Problems
If we had to associate teenagers with one playful stereotype, it would probably be related to their sleeping patterns.
If you have a teen, you’ll likely know firsthand the daytime sleepiness they can experience. Yet this is often followed by a “second wind” that can keep them up until all hours of the night. In most circumstances, what’s going on here is natural and purely down to biological changes, but in some cases, there could be something deeper going on.
If you’re worried about how poor sleep is affecting your teen’s mental health or daily functioning, a mental health professional can provide insight and guidance. This page can also help you better understand teen sleep problems by exploring:
- The mechanisms behind how we fall asleep
- Why teens can find it harder to achieve a consistent sleeping schedule
- If mental health conditions can cause teen sleeping problems
- Consequences of disrupted sleep schedules in teens
- When to seek help for your teen’s sleep issues
- Where to find support for teen sleep and mental health difficulties
How Do We Fall Asleep?
The second system is the homeostatic sleep drive, which can be visualized like a pressure valve. The longer you’ve been awake, the more this pressure builds, and once it reaches its maximum point, it signals that it’s time for sleep.2
These two systems naturally align with each other,3 allowing most people to drift into sleep with minimal effort each night. The issue arises when they slip out of sync,3 and once this happens, falling asleep can become much harder.
For many different reasons, teens are especially likely to fall out of sync with this rhythm, which makes it difficult for young people to fall asleep at a consistent or “healthy” time.
Why Do Teens Find it Harder to Achieve a Consistent Sleeping Schedule?
During puberty, melatonin, the hormone that signals to the body that it’s nighttime, is released later in the evening. This means the sleep drive mentioned earlier builds more slowly, pushing a teen’s internal clock toward an evening preference.4 All of this happens while a teen’s daily demands, like catching an early bus or attending morning classes, still require early wake-ups.
Aside from biological difficulties, there are many environmental factors that make sleep tricky for teens. For example, a teen may try to maintain a good schedule during the week, but then schoolwork demands could kick in. Studying past school hours or staying up late to finish homework can easily disrupt a teen’s circadian rhythm.5
Plus, teens are more likely to sleep in on weekends or stay up late for social activities that don’t require early starts, as school does.4 Even when a routine starts to settle after a few days of school, the weekend can disrupt this progress again. So by Monday, adolescents are right back to struggling with an irregular sleep schedule again. This pattern even has a name, and researchers call it “social jet lag.”4
Teens are also at an age where they may be introduced to substances like stimulants for the first time. For instance, they may become more reliant on coffee for studying and alertness – or even experiment with nicotine. Both can negatively affect sleep,6 and when you combine them with the natural challenges of maintaining a consistent schedule, drifting off at night can become even harder.
Can Mental Health Conditions Cause Teen Sleeping Problems?
Some people still hold the belief that mental health conditions don’t really affect teenagers; after all, what could they possibly be anxious or depressed about? Of course, this is a misconception, and teens absolutely can experience significant mental health challenges.
When we look at youth mental health and sleep specifically, the research suggests a bidirectional relationship. This relationship is similar to the chicken-and-egg paradox because it’s difficult to determine which comes first.
Below, we explore some of the key relationships between youth mental health and sleep, starting with insomnia.
Insomnia in Teens
We’ve all likely heard of insomnia, or maybe even experienced it in our adult lives, but what exactly is it? While there are many different types, the International Classification of Sleep Disorders defines insomnia as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, resulting in daytime impairment.4
Insomnia is estimated to affect around 20-25% of teens,4 but is frequently underdiagnosed, as general sleep deprivation is common and can mimic the symptoms of insomnia.
Worryingly, the problems don’t stop at insomnia’s front door, as the sleep disorder is strongly linked to both depression and anxiety.
Sleep Anxiety in Teenagers
Reviews have reported that the most common sleep problem in teens with anxiety is difficulty falling or staying asleep, with these issues increasing the severity of anxiety symptoms.4 These symptoms can appear at night, often driven by worries related to school, friendships, or social pressure. Anxiety night-time symptoms include:7
Racing thoughts- Physical tension
- Accelerated heart rate
- Restless behavior
- Fearful anticipation
From a scientific perspective, research suggests that the physiological hyperarousal associated with insomnia may interfere with the regulation of sleep because the systems controlling arousal and anxiety overlap.4
Teen brain studies also show altered prefrontal cortex-amygdala connectivity, which means that sleep disturbances may directly impact emotional regulation, worsening anxiety.4
These findings might seem to suggest that insomnia causes anxiety, especially as data shows that people with insomnia are 17 times more likely to have anxiety than those without insomnia.8 But anxiety disorders can also cause or worsen sleep problems, creating a loop: anxiety can trigger the sleep disruption, which intensifies anxiety symptoms, which further disrupts sleep.8
What comes first depends on the person, but it’s clear that each aspect can both exacerbate and sustain the other.
Teenage Depression and Sleep Issues
Mental health disorders have a prevalence of around 20% among adolescents, with major depression being the most common.4 When we pair this prevalence with the earlier fact that insomnia affects 20-25% of young people, it becomes clear how insomnia in teens could be a strong predictor of depression.
In fact, one study of nearly 5,000 adolescents found that insomnia increased the risk of developing depression by 2.3 times.9 Looking at the other side of the relationship, a meta-analysis reported that insomnia symptoms created a 1.67-fold risk of developing depression during the teen years.10
Consequences of Disrupted Sleep Schedules In Teens
Aside from depression and anxiety issues that can either be exacerbated or caused by sleeping problems, there are also many other areas of a teen’s life that can be affected. These include:
Cardiovascular Risks
A 2025 study involving 360 adolescents found that teens who slept at irregular times during the week or stayed up much later on non-school days showed lower heart rate variability.11 This pattern suggests their bodies were under greater stress and less able to fully relax.
Lower heart rate variability is also a known predictor of future cardiovascular disease, indicating that adolescent sleep difficulties may set the stage for later heart problems.11
School Performance and Teen Sleep
A study that tracked more than 800 adolescents found that later sleep onset and disruptions in consistent sleep patterns correlated with lower grades.12 Variability in sleep duration, especially getting less than the recommended eight hours for teens, also predicted higher odds of suspension or expulsion from school.13
Chronic sleep issues in teens can also lead to cognitive difficulties that show up most clearly in the classroom, such as trouble concentrating and remembering information.14 These symptoms can closely resemble ADHD, with one psychiatrist noting that the overlap is so strong that “it’s an easy misdiagnosis to make”14
Raised Blood Pressure
Research has found strong links between blood pressure and adolescent obesity, with sleep emerging as one of the major driving factors. One study reported that increases in abdominal fat were associated with higher blood pressure, but this link did not appear in teens who maintained consistent sleep patterns.15
Researchers also found that when teens regularly fell asleep after 2 AM, each unit of visceral fat was tied to a 5 mm Hg increase in blood pressure.15
These findings suggest that keeping a regular sleep schedule may help protect overweight teens from developing high blood pressure.
Weight Gain and Teen Sleep Problems
Research shows that irregular sleep patterns and social jet lag can increase appetite and overall energy intake. A review on adolescent obesity found that chronic sleep variability was linked with higher calorie consumption and greater obesity risk.16 This suggests that maintaining consistent sleep routines may help reduce the risk of weight gain.
Another study noted that teens with evening inclinations or large weekday-weekend differences in sleep had higher waist circumferences and more abdominal fat.17 Plus, teens who routinely go to bed very late also tend to eat more nutrient-poor foods and experience hormonal changes in ghrelin, leptin, and insulin. These hormone changes can increase the likelihood of weight gain.16
When to Seek Help for Your Teen’s Sleep Issues
It can be difficult to know the right steps to take as a parent. Your teen may be finding sleep a challenge, but you might be left unsure whether this is a temporary phase or a sign that something needs a closer look.
Teens with ongoing difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep, especially when these changes lead to mood disruptions that disrupt daily functioning, should consult a healthcare professional for further evaluation. No teen should have to deal with sleep disorders, especially as there are treatment options for teens with insomnia readily available.
There is also the possibility that your teen may be dealing with mood disorders such as depression or anxiety, both of which need professional evaluation. Teenagers with sleep anxiety or any form of teenage depression linked to sleep issues shouldn’t have to live with it, and recovery is possible.
So if you’ve noticed any signs of impacted mental health and sleep, even if you’re not completely sure, it’s always worth contacting a mental health or sleep specialist for guidance.
In the next section, we’ll walk you through how Mission Connection can provide expert help for tired teenagers.
Mission Prep: Professional Support for Teen Sleep and Mental Health Difficulties
If your teen is struggling with an irregular sleep pattern and showing signs that their daily life has been impacted, it may be time to reach out for specialist support. Mission Prep works with teens who feel overwhelmed by insomnia, and we also specialize in treating sleep anxiety in teenagers.
Further, we aim to uncover the complex ways mental health and sleep interact in youth. These issues can be difficult to deal with internally as a family, yet professional help can bring lasting relief.
We also understand that the right environment can make a meaningful difference, which is why we offer both outpatient care and residential treatment for insomnia in teens. Outpatient sessions allow your teen to explore why their sleep has become unpredictable while giving them grounding strategies that reduce nighttime tension.
Some families feel that a higher level of support is needed, and that is exactly what our residential programs provide. Undertaken in our calming locations across the US, these settings create a calm space where your child can address the anxiety or depression that sits alongside sleep issues. They will be supported throughout by an experienced team who understand how disruptive poor sleep can be, especially when sleep anxiety or teenage depression is involved.
If you’ve been searching for treatment for insomnia and mental health in teens, look no further than Mission Prep. Contact us today to begin the process of bringing steadiness back to your teen’s nights and restoring their overall well-being.
References
- Bryan, L., & Guo, L. (2024, March 15). What Is Circadian Rhythm? Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm
- CDC. (2020, April 2). Module 2. Sleep Pressure: Homeostatic Sleep Drive. NIOSH | CDC. Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/work-hour-training-for-nurses/longhours/mod2/11.html
- Deboer, T. (2018). Sleep homeostasis and the circadian clock: Do the circadian pacemaker and the sleep homeostat influence each other’s functioning? Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms, 5(2451-9944), 68–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbscr.2018.02.003
- Uccella, S., Cordani, R., Salfi, F., Gorgoni, M., Scarpelli, S., Gemignani, A., Geoffroy, P. A., De Gennaro, L., Palagini, L., Ferrara, M., & Nobili, L. (2023). Sleep deprivation and insomnia in adolescence: Implications for mental health. Brain Sciences, 13(4), 569. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13040569
- Suni, E. (2023, October 4). Teens and Sleep. Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/teens-and-sleep
- UCLA Health. (2023). Sleep and Teens – Sleep Disorders. Www.uclahealth.org. https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/sleep-disorders/patient-resources/patient-education/sleep-and-teens
- Lockett, E. (2018, December 20). How to Ease Anxiety at Night. Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/anxiety-at-night#symptoms
- Tompa, R. (2025). How sleep affects mental health (and vice versa): What the science says. News Center. https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/08/sleep-mental-health-connection-what-science-says.html
- Roane, B. M., & Taylor, D. J. (2008). Adolescent Insomnia as a Risk Factor for Early Adult Depression and Substance Abuse. Sleep, 31(10), 1351. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2572740/
- Scott, J., Kallestad, H., Vedaa, O., Sivertsen, B., & Etain, B. (2021). Sleep disturbances and first onset of major mental disorders in adolescence and early adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 57, 101429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101429
- Penn State College of Medicine News. (2025, February 19). Timing and regularity of sleep may be key for adolescent heart health. Penn State Health News. https://pennstatehealthnews.org/2025/02/timing-and-regularity-of-sleep-may-be-key-for-adolescent-heart-health/
- Dolan, E. W. (2024, May 12). New study links irregular sleep patterns to academic and behavioral problems in adolescents. PsyPost – Psychology News. https://www.psypost.org/new-study-links-irregular-sleep-patterns-to-academic-and-behavioral-problems-in-adolescents/
- NICHD. (2024, April 2). Media Advisory: Irregular sleep and late bedtimes associated with worse grades for high school students. Https://Www.nichd.nih.gov/. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/040224-teen-sleep
- Garey, J. (2024, March 8). Teens and Sleep: The Cost of Sleep Deprivation. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/happens-teenagers-dont-get-enough-sleep/
- American Heart Association Newsroom. (2023). Erratic sleep patterns linked to elevated blood pressure in teens with extra belly weight. American Heart Association. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/erratic-sleep-patterns-linked-to-elevated-blood-pressure-in-teens-with-extra-belly-weight
- Okoli, A., Hanlon, E. C., & Brady, M. J. (2021). The relationship between sleep, obesity, and metabolic health in adolescents: A review. Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research, 17, 15–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coemr.2020.10.007
- MGH Public Affairs. (2019, October 19). Teenage Sleep Hygiene. Hms.harvard.edu. https://hms.harvard.edu/news/teenage-sleep-hygiene
