Kids who miss out on sleep aren’t just groggy in school — they’re also far more likely to do all the things that give parents nightmares.

From fistfights to fighting off depression, smoking pot to sucking back sugary drinks, researchers say kids who don’t get the time they need in bed are busy doing other things… and clearly not the things you want your kids doing.

Using data from the 2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the researchers found that 69 percent of 12,100 kids between 12 and 18 years old got less than eight hours of sleep a night.

And these children — the vast majority of kids, obviously — were more likely to engage in some of the worst-of-the-worst activities: sex, booze, smoking, marijuana, and fistfights.

It didn’t stop there, either. These kids were also more likely to battle mood problems, including sadness and depression, and even entertain serious thoughts of suicide.

Next to all that, the rest of the “risky” behaviors seem downright tame: The researchers say sleepless kids are more likely to drink a sugary soda each day, get less physical activity, and spend too much time on the computer.

Maybe it’s just that kids who stay up later stay out later — and are more likely to be in situations where they’d engage in risky activities. Or maybe it’s just the fact that, at 69 percent, sleepless kids make up such a huge percentage that they’re more likely to do just about anything.

Whatever the reason, as long as you keep control over what goes on in your home, make sure to set some rules about bedtime — because even if your children aren’t out boozing, smoking pot, and having sex, a lack of sleep could have an impact on everything from their waistlines to their schoolwork.

Remember, a kid may hate the rules of the house — but those same rules will help set either a long lifetime of good habits… or a shorter span of bad ones.

No wonder we’re fatter and sicker than ever and getting worse every day: New numbers from the CDC show that half of all Americans over the age of TWO YEARS OLD drink at least one soda a day.

Notice the words “at least.” Check out these numbers:

• 70 percent of boys between 2 and 19 get an average of 273 daily calories from sugary drinks alone.
• Men from 20 – 39 are a close second, at 252 daily calories from these drinks.
• 40 percent of adult women between 20 and 39 getting an average of 138 daily calories from the beverages.
• Teen girls take in 171 per day.

Ready for the worst part? Five percent of Americans — in real numbers, that’s some 15 million people — swallow 567 liquid sugar calories a day.

That’s like an entire meal made of soda.

Of course, the beverage industry is spilling that tired old line about no link between their drinks and disease, and they’re claiming that sugary beverages can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

They even have the mainstream on board with this nonsense, with groups like the American Heart Association declaring that people can have three sugary drinks a week and still be “healthy.”

I wonder if that position has anything to do with all the soda companies on the AHA’s Industry Nutrition Advisory Panel. (Take a look at the members here it if you’re curious — and remember, everyone on this list paid the AHA $10K to join.)

The reality is that sugary drinks have been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and even cancer.

If you love your soda, you’re not going to like hearing this — but there’s simply no reason to drink this stuff at all, and not just because of the sugar. These drinks are chemical nightmares. Even the coloring used in many sodas has been linked to cancer. (Read more here.)

Whatever you do, don’t switch to diet. As bad as the real stuff is, artificial sweeteners can be even worse. Aspartame, for example, has been linked to headaches, asthma, seizures, nerve damage, sleep disorders, mood problems, and more.

If you need some fizz, stick to seltzer. Otherwise, make your drink of choice coffee or tea.

Unsweetened, of course.

The U.S. government’s dietary guidelines released last year allow people to get as much as 25 percent of their calories from added sugars. If it’s not immediately obvious why that’s a bad idea, a new study spells it out.

All that sugar is the fastest way to put yourself at risk for heart disease — and you can see the damage in just two weeks.

Forty-eight volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40 were asked to spend five weeks limiting added sugars to a single eight-ounce cup of fruit juice a day, bringing them all down to an equal level, sugar-wise.

Then, they were divided into three groups and given 25 percent of their daily calories from one of three types of sugar: glucose, fructose, or high-fructose corn syrup.

For the HFCS group, that’s the equivalent of 3.7 cans of soda a day for women and 4.4 cans for men — a lot of soda (and a lot of sugar), but still less than what you’ll find in a “Double Gulp” at your local 7-11.

After two weeks on this government-approved sugar high, the volunteers who had been getting their calories from fructose and high-fructose corn syrup had significant bumps in their levels of deadly triglycerides as well as a rise in LDL cholesterol.

They even had more apolipoprotein-B, a protein linked to plaque in the arteries, according to the study that will appear this fall in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

If that’s what two weeks of all that sugar will do to you, imagine what’ll happen to your body in two months, two years or two decades — if you even make it that far.

The study also offers more proof that you don’t have to eat fat to send your cholesterol levels through the roof. Sugar will do that for you all by itself. Natural fats, on the other hand, can actually help keep cholesterol levels under control as well as lower your blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

Yet the same government that wants you to eat more sugar is constantly urging you to avoid fat — putting you on a collision course with diabetes, heart disease, and a premature demise.

The lesson here: No matter what Uncle Sam says, no amount of added sugars are an acceptable part of the diet.

I know, you can’t always avoid them… and everyone is going to indulge here and there.

But as a daily ration? Forget it.

The risks of soda don’t end with the sweeteners.

In fact, sugar and aspartame are only the beginning – because ounce for ounce, soda is just about the most destructive blend of chemicals being sold for consumption today.

Now, a leading consumer group is pushing for a ban on one ingredient that may not even sound all that bad: caramel color.

But this is no creamy candy – it’s the byproduct of a pressurized treatment that combines sugar with ammonia, and leaves behind two compounds in particular that you definitely don’t want to drink: 2-methylimidazole and 4- methylimidazole.

California has already added 4-methylimidazole to its list of chemicals known to cause cancer, and set a safe upper limit of 16 micrograms a day.

But the Center for Science in the Public Interest says a single can of soda contains more than eight times that amount – 130 micrograms.

The CSPI recently filed a petition asking the FDA to ban this poison. The FDA, naturally, says it will “consider” it.

In other words: Don’t hold your breath.

But while the feds drag their feet, science marches on – and new research finds that cancer isn’t the only risk that can come from caramel color.

One new study on rats finds it can even reduce white blood cell counts, leading to immune-system damage.

So we got sugar… aspartame… caramel color… and we’re not done yet. Here are some other common soda ingredients to watch out for:

Phosphates: Too much phosphoric acid can suck the calcium right out of your bones like, well, like soda through a straw. And that means soda drinkers face a higher risk of osteoporosis in their later years. Phosphates can also rot teeth, increase the risk of kidney stones and even remove paint and rust from metal.

Sodium benzoate: Added to soda and other soft drinks (even bottled teas) as a preservative, this stuff has been shown to cause cell damage – and that could speed the aging process. It’s also been linked to conditions such as cancer, cirrhosis and Parkinson’s disease.

BPA: Just about every cola can sold in the country contains this hormone-like chemical, which has been linked to sexual problems, diabetes, heart disease and more.

Put it all together, and you have a perfect blend of risk: Diet and regular soda alike have been linked to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, rotten teeth and overall poor health.

The best way to avoid it all is to switch to freshly brewed coffee or tea. Hot or iced, you can’t beat the taste – and they come loaded with real health benefits instead of deadly risks.