Tired teens: The most popular children at school get the least sleep – especially if they are girls, study finds

Most teenagers already struggle to get enough sleep.

Now, experts have discovered the most popular children get the least – especially girls.

A team from Orebro University in Sweden asked 1,300 teenagers to report how much sleep they got each night.

They were also asked to nominate up to three friends and those who received the most nominations were defined as more popular.

Analysis revealed popular teenagers slept less than their peers, losing up to 27 minutes of sleep per night.

When the researchers looked at boys and girls separately, they discovered that popular girls, in particular, were more likely to experience difficulties falling or staying asleep or waking up too early.

Popular boys did not experience these symptoms to the same extent.

The researchers said the fact that boys and girls have different friendships might go some way to explaining the difference.

First author Dr Serena Bauducco said: ‘Girls express more care and concern with their friends and engage in helping behaviours more than boys.

‘This might mean they carry these concerns when it’s time to fall asleep.’

Overall, the researchers said being popular might require more time to be dedicated to friends, which could result in less time for sleeping.

More emotional investment, too, could lead to sleeping difficulties.

While some may expect phones and social media use to be behind the link, the team said they do not believe this to be the case (stock image) 

While some may expect phones and social media use to be behind the link, the team said they do not believe this to be the case.

That’s because previous studies have also shown a link between popularity and worse sleep even before the development of smartphones, they said.

‘Teenagers are arguably the most sleep deprived population throughout the lifespan,’ Dr Bauducco added.

‘Previous studies show that 30 minutes of extra sleep can lead to improved mental health and school performance.’

As school days start early many teenagers may try and catch up on sleep at the weekends – but the researchers warned this could backfire.

‘Suppose a teen sleeps in on Sunday until 1pm,’ Dr Bauducco said. ‘Falling asleep that night to be ready for school the next day will be a struggle, because they won’t feel tired.

‘Delaying wake-times too much can contribute to maintaining the problem of sleep debt racked up during the week.’

Writing in the journal Frontiers in Sleep, the team said they believe that discussing social norms around sleep and expectations of friends around bedtime are a missing component of existing sleep interventions for teenagers.