Overview

• Teens reporting fewer than the recommended 8–10 hours of sleep were more likely to say they had witnessed neighborhood violence, with risk rising as sleep time declined.
• Those sleeping four hours or less had nearly threefold higher odds of violence exposure compared with peers who slept longer.
• Short sleep was also linked to greater odds of carrying a weapon, getting into fights, being threatened or injured at school, and skipping school due to safety concerns.
• A small subgroup sleeping 10 hours or more (1.6%) showed elevated odds of witnessing and engaging in violent behaviors, which authors suggest may reflect underlying conditions.
• The peer‑reviewed study in SLEEP used 2019, 2021, and 2023 CDC data, is observational rather than causal, and the team plans further research and community‑focused sleep health initiatives.