Adolescent sleep patterns deserve
particular attention because of their
potential to affect school performance.
Adolescents typically get significantly
less sleep than younger children, not
because they need less sleep but
because their schedule and biorhythms
impede adequate sleep. Researchers
studying the optimal sleep periods of
adolescents have found that under
controlled conditions (e.g., with no
clocks and lighting cues), adolescents
typically sleep nine hours a night
(Carskadon, 2002)