A teenager should go to bed about 9 hours before they need to wake up, and no later than 8 hours and 15 minutes before. For a 6:30 AM school alarm, that means lights out around 9:15 PM, and 10:15 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 every bedtime below adds 15 minutes to fall asleep.
The range is the same from 13 to 17. What changes from year to year is the schedule around it: earlier bells, later homework, sports, jobs and, eventually, a car. So the answer for each age below starts with the same math and then deals with what tends to get in the way.
Free toolSleep Needs by AgeRecommended hours for every age, from newborns to over-65s.Teen bedtime chart by wake-up time
Find the wake-up time, then read across: the 9-hour column is the everyday target and the 8-hour column is the latest bedtime that still meets the minimum.
| Wake-up time | 9 hours (target) | 8.5 hours | 8 hours (latest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | 8:45 PM | 9:15 PM | 9:45 PM |
| 6:15 AM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
| 6:30 AM | 9:15 PM | 9:45 PM | 10:15 PM |
| 6:45 AM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 9:45 PM | 10:15 PM | 10:45 PM |
| 7:30 AM | 10:15 PM | 10:45 PM | 11:15 PM |
For any other wake time, the sleep needs by age calculator gives the window in a tap. If you want the deeper "why" behind the 8 to 10 hours, see how much sleep teenagers need.
What time should a 13 year old go to bed?
A 13-year-old should go to bed around 8:45 PM for a 6:00 AM wake-up, 9:15 PM for 6:30 AM, or 9:45 PM for 7:00 AM. The latest bedtimes for those alarms are 9:45, 10:15 and 10:45 PM.
Thirteen is often the first year with a personal phone, a group chat that never sleeps and a body clock that is starting to drift later. It's a good age to set the habits you want at 16, like a phone charging spot outside the bedroom. Some 13-year-olds need more than 9 hours, so if yours is hard to wake, try the earlier end.
What time should a 14 year old go to bed?
A 14-year-old should aim for 8:45 PM with a 6:00 AM alarm, 9:15 PM with 6:30 AM, or 9:45 PM with 7:00 AM, and no later than 9:45, 10:15 or 10:45 PM.
Fourteen is the usual start of high school, and in many districts that brings an earlier bell than middle school. A teen who woke at 7:00 last year and now wakes at 6:15 needs to be asleep 45 minutes earlier for the same sleep, which rarely happens on its own. Plan the shift a week or two before school starts, in 15-minute steps.
What time should a 15 year old go to bed?
A 15-year-old should go to bed around 8:45 PM for a 6:00 AM start, 9:15 PM for 6:30 AM, or 9:45 PM for 7:00 AM, with 9:45, 10:15 and 10:45 PM as the latest.
By 15, practice, rehearsals and homework can push the real start of the evening past 8 PM. If 9 hours isn't possible on a game night, protect 8, and look for nights later in the week to get back toward 9.
What time should a 16 year old go to bed?
A 16-year-old should be asleep by about 8:45 PM for a 6:00 AM alarm, 9:15 PM for 6:30 AM, or 9:45 PM for 7:00 AM, and no later than 9:45, 10:15 or 10:45 PM.
Sixteen often means a driver's license, which makes sleep a safety issue, not just a mood one. A teen who drives to school after 6 hours of sleep is driving tired. If your teen dozes in class or in the car as a passenger, treat that as a reason to hold the bedtime line on school nights.
What time should a 17 year old go to bed?
A 17-year-old should go to bed around 8:45 PM for a 6:00 AM wake-up, 9:15 PM for 6:30 AM, or 9:45 PM for 7:00 AM, and by 9:45, 10:15 or 10:45 PM at the latest.
At 17, a parent-set bedtime often gives way to the teen managing their own. A useful handover is to share the math: "you need to be up at 6:30, so you need to be in bed by 10:15 at the latest." Part-time evening jobs and college applications are the usual squeeze, and the hours of sleep calculator lets them check what a late shift actually leaves.
Why teens can't fall asleep earlier
Around puberty, the body clock shifts later, so many teens genuinely aren't sleepy at 9 PM. Researchers at Brown University describe sleep and wake timing moving later during the second decade of life.
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.
- Dimmer light in the last hour. Lamps instead of overhead lights.
- No caffeine after lunch. An afternoon energy drink can still be working at bedtime; the caffeine calculator shows how much is left.
Weekends, phones and school start times
Keep weekend wake-ups within about 1 to 2 hours of school days, keep phones out of the bedroom overnight, and use the school's start time to set the bedtime, not the other way round.
- Weekends. A Saturday sleep-in until 8:30 is fine for a 6:30 riser. Sleeping until noon shifts the clock later and makes Monday harder. More in is it bad to sleep in on weekends.
- Phones. A shared charging spot in the kitchen works better than a rule that only applies to the teen. Parents plugging in there too makes it a house habit, not a punishment.
- School start times. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that 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.
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 onset in the early hours most nights, is also worth raising.