A 13-year-old who wakes up at 6:30 AM should go to bed around 9:15 PM, and no later than 10:15 PM. For a 7:00 AM wake-up, that's 9:45 PM, and 10:45 PM at the latest. Teens aged 13 to 18 need 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and each bedtime here includes about 15 minutes to fall asleep.
These are the same numbers the kids bedtime calculator gives for a 13-year-old. Thirteen is the first teen year, often the middle of middle school, and the age when the body clock starts running later. This page covers school nights, weekends and summer, and why the chart can feel early.
Free toolSleep Needs by AgeRecommended hours for every age, from newborns to over-65s.What time should a 13-year-old go to bed on school nights?
Count back 9 hours and 15 minutes from the wake-up time for the target, or 8 hours and 15 minutes for the latest bedtime. For a 6:30 AM alarm, that's 9:15 PM and 10:15 PM.
| Wake-up time | Earliest (10 h) | Target (9 h) | Latest (8 h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | 7:45 PM | 8:45 PM | 9:45 PM |
| 6:15 AM | 8:00 PM | 9:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
| 6:30 AM | 8:15 PM | 9:15 PM | 10:15 PM |
| 6:45 AM | 8:30 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:30 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 8:45 PM | 9:45 PM | 10:45 PM |
| 7:30 AM | 9:15 PM | 10:15 PM | 11:15 PM |
The 9-hour column is the everyday target. The 8-hour column is the last bedtime that still meets the minimum, so it's for busy nights, not every night.
At 12, the guideline range is 9 to 12 hours; at 13 it becomes 8 to 10. That's why the target bedtime here is later than the one for a 12-year-old with the same alarm. If your 13-year-old is still very hard to wake on 9 hours, they may be one of the teens who needs closer to 10. Try the earlier column for a week.
What time should a 13-year-old go to bed and wake up?
A workable school-night schedule for most 13-year-olds is lights out at 9:15 PM and up at 6:30 AM, or 9:45 PM and 7:00 AM. Both give about 9 hours of sleep.
If bedtime is the fixed point instead, add 15 minutes to fall asleep plus 9 hours to find the matching wake-up:
| Bedtime | 9 hours ends at | 8 hours ends at |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 PM | 6:15 AM | 5:15 AM |
| 9:30 PM | 6:45 AM | 5:45 AM |
| 10:00 PM | 7:15 AM | 6:15 AM |
| 10:30 PM | 7:45 AM | 6:45 AM |
| 11:00 PM | 8:15 AM | 7:15 AM |
A 10:30 PM bedtime with a 6:30 AM alarm gives about 7 hours 45 minutes, already under the 8-hour minimum. Small slips add up fast at this age.
Why a 13-year-old isn't tired at bedtime
Around puberty the body clock shifts later, so many 13-year-olds don't feel sleepy at the time that worked a year or two ago. Researchers who study adolescent sleep describe sleep and wake timing moving later through the second decade of life, with biological, psychosocial and environmental factors all playing a part.
Early school starts collide with that shift. A classic study followed students from 9th grade, with an 8:25 AM start, into 10th grade, with a 7:20 AM start. With the earlier bell, they woke earlier but didn't fall asleep earlier, so they simply slept less and were sleepier in the morning. The American Academy of Pediatrics has called school start times before 8:30 AM a key, changeable cause of insufficient sleep in middle and high school students, and urges later starts.
What helps move the clock back:
- Bright light soon after waking. Open the blinds, eat breakfast by a window, walk part of the way to school.
- Dim light in the last hour. Lamps instead of overhead lights, and screens away.
- Phones charging outside the bedroom. Thirteen is often the first year with a personal phone, which makes it the easiest year to set the rule.
- No caffeine after lunch. Sodas, iced coffee and energy drinks can still be working at bedtime.
More on how much teens need, and why, is in how much sleep do teenagers need.
What time should a 13-year-old go to bed on the weekend?
Keep weekend wake-ups within about 1 to 2 hours of school days, and bedtime 9 hours and 15 minutes before that. For a teen who's up at 6:30 on weekdays, sleeping until 8:00 or 8:30 on Saturday is fine.
| Weekend wake-up | Target bedtime (9 h) | Latest (8 h) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM | 10:45 PM | 11:45 PM |
| 8:30 AM | 11:15 PM | 12:15 AM |
Sleeping until noon is different. It moves the body clock later, so Sunday night's bedtime won't happen and Monday morning feels much worse. The same trade-off for the next year up is in the 14-year-old bedtime guide.
What time should a 13-year-old go to bed in the summer?
In summer, a later schedule is fine as long as it still gives about 9 hours and stays roughly the same each day. For a 9:00 AM wake-up, that's bed around 11:45 PM; for 9:30 AM, about 12:15 AM.
| Summer wake-up | Target bedtime (9 h) | Latest (8 h) |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30 AM | 11:15 PM | 12:15 AM |
| 9:00 AM | 11:45 PM | 12:45 AM |
| 9:30 AM | 12:15 AM | 1:15 AM |
| 10:00 AM | 12:45 AM | 1:45 AM |
How to get back on schedule after summer break
Start moving bedtime and wake-up 15 minutes earlier every couple of days, about two weeks before school starts. A teen on a 1:00 AM bedtime and 10:00 AM wake-up can't jump straight back to a 6:30 AM alarm in one night.
A camp, a regular morning activity or a fixed breakfast time keeps the schedule from drifting so far in the first place. Morning light during those last two weeks makes the earlier bedtime much easier to fall asleep at. Ages 13 to 17 side by side are in what time should a teenager go to bed, and the kids bedtime calculator gives the window for any other wake-up.
When to talk to a doctor
Speak to your teen's doctor if they snore loudly or seem to stop breathing in sleep, can't fall asleep for weeks at a time even with a sensible routine, or are very sleepy during the day despite enough time in bed. A body clock that runs extremely late, with sleep starting in the early hours most nights, is also worth raising.