Kids and teens need about nine or 10 hours of sleep a night to be at their best. Not surprisingly, youth are more likely to get that sort of sleep if things are going well at home.

David Maume, a sleep researcher from the University of Cincinnati, analyzed data from nearly 1,000 teens and found that youth who had good relationships with their parents also got decent sleep. Teens who didn’t have such hot relationships with their moms and dads, or if the family was going through rocky times (such as a divorce) tended to have more sleep problems.

“It’s a finding that seems obvious,” says Maume, “but perhaps we need reminding that parents really do matter when it comes to the health habits of their teenagers.” (National Public Radio)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.