MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Mansfield Senior High School has introduced a new course tackling a widespread issue among teenagers nationwide: How to Get to Sleep.

One ninth grader in the class mentions his tactic of scrolling through TikTok until he drifts off. Another student admits she often falls asleep during late-night group chats with friends. Not all students participate in the class discussions; some are seen napping at their desks.

Sleep training isn't just for infants anymore. More schools are taking it upon themselves to educate teenagers on how to achieve restful sleep.

“It might seem unusual to teach high schoolers the skills to sleep,” says Mansfield health teacher Tony Davis, who has integrated a newly developed sleep curriculum into a state-mandated health class. “But you'd be surprised at how many of them simply don't know how to get proper sleep.”

Teens staying up late is a long-standing issue; biologically, their circadian rhythms shift during puberty, making them inclined to stay up later. However, research indicates that teenagers are more sleep-deprived than ever, potentially contributing to the youth mental health crisis and other school-related issues, including behavioral and attendance problems.

“Visit any high school in America, and you'll find kids asleep — whether it's at their desks, outside on the ground, or on a couch the school provides for naps — because they are exhausted,” says Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education. Pope, who has surveyed high school students for over a decade, also conducts parent sessions across California on the critical nature of teen sleep. “Sleep is directly linked to mental health. No one disputes that.”

How much sleep do teens need?

Teenagers require between eight and 10 hours of sleep each night for their developing brains and bodies. Yet nearly 80% of teens fall short of this, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has noted a steady decline in teen sleep since 2007. Currently, most teens average about 6 hours of sleep.

Research increasingly shows how closely sleep is tied to mood, mental health, and self-harm. As sleep decreases, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors increase. Numerous studies also link inadequate sleep to sports injuries and athletic performance, teen driving accidents, and risky sexual behavior and substance use, partly due to impaired judgment when the brain is sleep-deprived.

For years, sleep experts have been warning about an adolescent sleep crisis, supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and others. Consequently, some school districts have shifted to later start times. California and Florida have enacted laws requiring high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. However, simply advising a teenager to go to bed earlier isn't always effective, as any parent can confirm: They need to be persuaded.

That's why Mansfield City Schools, a district with 3,000 students in north-central Ohio, is implementing what it calls “a sleep intervention.”

‘Sleep to Be a Better You’

The district's high school is testing the new curriculum, “Sleep to Be a Better You,” aiming to enhance academic success and reduce chronic absences, defined as missing more than 10% of the school year. The rate of students missing that much class has fallen from 44% in 2021 but remains high at 32%, according to Kari Cawrse, the district’s attendance coordinator. Surveys of parents and students highlighted prevalent sleep issues and a persistent cycle of late bedtimes, oversleeping, missing the school bus, and staying home.

Students in Davis' class shared reasons why achieving good sleep is challenging. A survey of 90 students across Davis’ five classes found that over 60% use their phones as alarm clocks, and over 50% fall asleep while looking at their phones. Experts have long advised parents to remove phones from the bedroom at night, but national surveys indicate that most teens keep their phones within reach — and many fall asleep holding their devices.

During the six-part course, students are asked to maintain daily sleep logs for six weeks, rating their mood and energy levels.

Freshman Nathan Baker thought he knew how to sleep, but realized he was mistaken. Bedtime involved lying in bed with his phone, watching YouTube or Snapchat Spotlight videos, often staying up past midnight. On a good night, he managed five hours of sleep. He felt so exhausted by midday that he would nap for hours after school, not realizing it disrupted his nighttime sleep.

“Bad habits definitely start around middle school, with all the stress and drama,” Baker says. He applied the tips learned in sleep class and was amazed at the results. Now, his sleep routine begins around 7 or 8 p.m.: He puts his phone away for the night and avoids evening snacks, which can disturb the body’s circadian rhythm. He aims for a regular bedtime of 10 p.m., ensuring to close his curtains and turn off the TV. He enjoys listening to music to fall asleep but has switched from his previous playlist of upbeat hip hop to soothing R&B or jazz, played on a stereo instead of his phone.

“I feel a lot better. I’m coming to school with a smile on my face,” says Baker, who now averages seven hours of sleep each night. “Life is so much more simple.”

There are scientific reasons for this. Studies with MRI scans show the brain is under stress when sleep-deprived and functions differently. There is less activity in the pre-frontal cortex, which regulates emotions, decision-making, focus, and impulse control, and more activity in the emotional center of the brain, the amygdala, which processes fear, anger, and anxiety.

Parents and teens themselves often aren't aware of the signs of sleep deprivation, attributing it to typical teen behavior: Being irritable, grumpy, emotionally fragile, unmotivated, impulsive, or generally negative.

Think of toddlers who throw temper tantrums when they miss their naps.

“Teenagers have meltdowns, too, because they’re tired. But they do it in more age-appropriate ways,” says Kyla Wahlstrom, an adolescent sleep expert at the University of Minnesota, who has studied the benefits of delayed school start times on teen sleep for decades. Wahlstrom developed the free sleep curriculum being used by Mansfield and several Minnesota schools.

Social media isn’t only to blame

Social media is often blamed for exacerbating the teen mental health crisis, but many experts argue that the national conversation overlooks the crucial role of sleep.

“The evidence linking sleep and mental health is much more robust and causal than the evidence connecting social media and mental health,” says Andrew Fuligni, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and co-director at UCLA’s Center for the Developing Adolescent.

Nearly 70% of Davis’ Mansfield students reported regularly feeling sleepy or exhausted during school hours. But technology isn't the sole culprit. Today’s students are overscheduled, overworked, and stressed, particularly as they approach senior year and college applications.

Chase Cole, a senior at Mansfield taking three advanced placement and honors classes, is striving for an athletic scholarship to play soccer in college. He plays in three different soccer leagues and typically practices until 7 p.m., after which he needs a nap. Cole wakes up for dinner, then dives into homework for at least three hours, allowing for five-minute phone breaks between assignments. He unwinds before bed with video games or TV until around 1 a.m.

“I definitely need to get more sleep at night,” says Cole, 17. “But it’s hard with all my honors classes and college stuff going on. It’s exhausting.”

There aren't enough hours in the day to sleep, says sophomore Amelia Raphael, 15. A self-proclaimed overachiever, Raphael is taking physics, honors chemistry, algebra, and trigonometry and is enrolled in online college classes. Her goal is to complete her associate degree by the time she graduates high school.

“I don’t want to have to pay for college. It’s a lot of money,” says Raphael, who plays three sports and is involved in student council and other clubs.

She acknowledges she’s overscheduled. “But if you don’t do that, you’re kind of setting yourself up for failure. There is a lot of pressure to do everything,” said Raphael, who goes to bed between midnight and 2 a.m. “I am giving up sleep for that.”