Risky sleepy teens

National survey data indicate teens who got too little sleep on school nights were more likely to do things that are bad for them in comparison to their peers who got enough sleep.

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researcher Lela McKnight-Eily says teens who reported sleeping less than eight hours a night were more likely to report behaviors such as smoking, drinking, getting into fights, and considering suicide.

McKnight-Eily advises parents to help keep their teens' sleep hours regular and without distractions:

"If an iPod or a cellphone is keeping your adolescent from getting the adequate rest that they need, you remove those from the room." (7 seconds)

The study was in the journal Preventive Medicine.