A recent study presented at the SLEEP 2025 annual meeting suggests that teenagers who moderately increase their sleep duration on weekends may experience reduced anxiety symptoms.

The study revealed that adolescents who slept up to two hours longer on weekends compared to weekdays showed fewer signs of anxiety. However, the research also indicated that extending weekend sleep beyond this moderate increase was linked to a slight increase in internalizing symptoms.

According to lead author Sojeong Kim, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon, “The results show that both sleeping less on weekends than weekdays and sleeping substantially more on weekends were associated with higher anxiety symptoms. in contrast,moderate catch-up sleep – defined as less than two hours – was associated with lower anxiety symptoms,suggesting that some weekend recovery sleep might potentially be beneficial.”

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises that teenagers aged 13 to 18 should aim for 8 to 10 hours of sleep regularly to maintain optimal health. Yet, data from the CDC indicates that only 23% of high school students achieve sufficient sleep on an average school night.

“Many teens try to make up for lost sleep by sleeping in on weekends,” said KIM.

Consistent and adequate sleep is associated with numerous health benefits, including improved attention, behavior, learning capabilities, memory function, emotional regulation, overall quality of life, and enhanced mental and physical health. Conversely, insufficient sleep in teenagers has been linked to increased risks of issues such as depression and suicidal thoughts.

The study analyzed data from 1,877 adolescents with an average age of 13.5 years. Sleep duration was tracked using fitbit devices,while internalizing symptoms were evaluated using the Child Behavior Checklist survey. Weekend catch-up sleep was persistent by calculating the difference between weekend and weekday sleep durations.

KIM emphasized the importance of determining the appropriate amount of catch-up sleep that can benefit teenagers who restrict their sleep during the week.

“To little or too much sleep variability from weekday to weekend may contribute to the symptoms someone is trying to combat,like physical or mental fatigue and feelings of anxiety,” she stated.

Key Findings on Teen Sleep and Anxiety

“Moderate catch-up sleep – defined as less than two hours – was associated with lower anxiety symptoms.”

The research abstract was published in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and was presented Wednesday, June 11, during SLEEP 2025 in SEATTLE. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.