A 14-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 14-year-old. Fourteen is often the first year of high school, so this page covers school nights, weekends and summer, and why your teen may not feel sleepy at the time the chart says.
Free toolSleep Needs by AgeRecommended hours for every age, from newborns to over-65s.What time should a 14-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. Some 14-year-olds genuinely need closer to 10 hours: if yours is very hard to wake on school days, try the earlier end for a week.
High school often brings an earlier bell than middle school. A teen who woke at 7:00 last year and now has to be up at 6:15 needs to be asleep 45 minutes earlier for the same sleep. That rarely happens on its own, so plan it a week or two before school starts, in 15-minute steps.
What time should a 14-year-old go to bed and wake up?
A workable school-night schedule for most 14-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. A 10:00 PM bedtime pairs with a 7:15 AM wake-up; a 10:30 PM bedtime with 7:45 AM.
Why a 14-year-old isn't tired at 9 PM
Around puberty the body clock shifts later, so many 14-year-olds really don't feel sleepy until 10 PM or after. Researchers who study adolescent sleep describe sleep and wake timing moving later through the second decade of life, while school start times stay the same or get earlier.
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, students woke earlier but didn't fall asleep earlier, so they simply slept less.
That doesn't mean giving up on an earlier bedtime. It means using the things that move the clock:
- 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.
- No caffeine after lunch. An afternoon energy drink or iced coffee can still be working at bedtime. The caffeine calculator shows how much is left.
The full picture of how much teens need, and why, is in how much sleep do teenagers need.
What time should a 14-year-old go to bed on weekends?
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 a different story. It moves the body clock later, so Sunday night's bedtime won't happen and Monday morning feels brutal. More on that trade-off in is it bad to sleep in on weekends.
What time should a 14-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 |
The catch is September. A teen who has drifted to a 1 AM bedtime and a 10 AM wake-up can't jump straight back to a 6:30 AM alarm. Start moving both times 15 minutes earlier every couple of days, about two weeks before school starts. A summer job with a fixed morning start makes this much easier.
Phones and school start times
Phones charging outside the bedroom is the single most useful house rule at 14. A shared charging spot in the kitchen works better than a rule that only applies to the teen, especially if parents plug in there too.
School start times matter as well. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends middle and high schools start at 8:30 AM or later so teens can get enough sleep. If your school starts at 7:30, a 9-hour night may simply not fit, and that isn't your teen's failure. Bedtimes for ages 13 to 17 are compared in what time should a teenager go to bed.
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.