---
title: Sleep Scheduling, Light-Altering Glasses May Help Adolescent Night Owls
description: Combining sleep schedules with light-altering glasses may help night-owl adolescents get more sleep.
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Sleep Scheduling, Light-Altering Glasses May Help Adolescent Night Owls](https://alert.psychnews.org/sleep-scheduling-light-altering-glasses-may-help-adolescent-night-owls)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 4/27/26 6:04 PM

Combining sleep schedules with light-altering glasses may help night-owl adolescents get more sleep, according to a [study](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2847884) in *JAMA Pediatrics*.

 

**Why It’s Relevant**

Roughly 80% of adolescents don’t get enough sleep. Many stay up late and then try to catch up on sleep over the weekend, which can create a mismatch between their biological timing and sleep-wake schedules and affect their cardiometabolic and mental health, increase their risk of substance use, and hurt their academic performance.

 

**By the Numbers**

- Eighty high school students ages 16 to 19 who regularly went to bed at 1 a.m. or later were randomized to a two-week sleep improvement intervention or a sleep monitoring control.
- The students in the treatment group followed a personalized sleep schedule that shifted bedtimes and wake times earlier; they also wore bright-light glasses for 30 to 60 minutes on waking and blue light–blocking glasses for two hours before bed.
- After two weeks, **circadian clocks shifted an average 36 minutes earlier **in the treatment group but nine minutes later in the control group, as assessed by salivary melatonin levels.
- Compared with the control group, the treatment group **lengthened their weeknight sleep by 47 minutes**, **fell asleep an hour earlier on weekdays and weekends, and woke up 20 minutes earlier on weekdays** and two hours earlier on weekends.

**The Other Side**

The study didn’t test whether students maintained their improved sleep patterns in the long term, nor did it assess daytime naps, which many adolescents take. Participants were largely White, non-Hispanic individuals, so the results may not be generalizable to a broader range of youth.

 

**What’s Next**

“Future iterations of adolescent sleep/circadian interventions should consider balancing sleep/circadian health with developmental stage, including decisions surrounding caregiver involvement, opportunities for social engagement, and practical issues around scheduling constraints while [advocating] for changes in school start times,” the researchers wrote.

 

**Related Information**

“[Sleep Problems in Late Childhood, Early Adolescence Linked to Psychiatric Symptoms](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.07.7.2)”

 

**Source**

Delainey L. Wescott, et al. Chronotherapeutic approaches to target insufficient and late sleep in adolescents: A randomized clinical trial. *JAMA Pediatrics*. Published online April 20, 2026. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.0976

 

(Image: Getty Images/iStock/Alina Rosanova)

 

[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/sleep-scheduling-light-altering-glasses-may-help-adolescent-night-owls)

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