A study of teens aged 13 to 16 found those who slept less than 6½ hours a night were up to three times more likely to have elevated blood pressure.

Researchers said the "technological invasion of the bedroom" was responsible for creating a generation of sleep-starved youngsters.

The study, published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, looked at the sleeping patterns of 238 teenagers and found that the duration of sleep directly affected blood pressure.

Those who had trouble nodding off at night or waking up in the morning were also at increased risk.

It is the first study of its kind to look at the link between sleep and blood pressure in healthy teens.

The author of the research, Susan Redline from University Hospital's Sleep Disorders Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, said "sleep insufficiency" was often related to mobile phones, music and computers in the bedroom.

"There are teens who text message or listen to music all night, compounded by early school hours. Adolescents need nine hours of sleep," Professor Redline said.

"Parents should optimise sleep quality for their family with regular sleep and wake times and bedrooms should be quiet, dark and conducive to sleep."

High blood pressure in childhood is linked to heart disease in adulthood.

Professor Redline said the results could have huge public health implications.

A group of Australian health specialists told the Herald in February that sleep should be a national health priority on par with alcohol abuse and obesity.

Problems with sleep underlie up to 70 per cent of GP visits and cost the economy more than $10 billion a year.

Fatigue is also implicated in a high proportion of car accidents, workplace injuries and cases of depression.

Sleep experts accused the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, of setting a bad example by admitting that he survives on less than five hours of sleep a night.