New Recommendations On How Much Sleep We Really Need
Not sure if you’re getting enough sleep? The National Sleep Foundation recently conducted research with a group of 18 experts from fields like sleep, anatomy, pediatrics, neurology and more to go over several years of publications in an effort to find a more accurate set of recommendations as to how much sleep we really need. This is the first time the recommendations have been specific to age groups and we thought sharing the results would help you measure if you’re really getting the right amount of sleep.
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The results, published in the journal “Sleep Health”, shows more sleep in the pediatric categories and also included two new age groups, young adults ages 18-25 and adults older than 65.
Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours each day, previously it was 12-18
Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours, previously it was 14-15
Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours, previously it was 12-14
Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours, previously it was 11-13
School-age children (6-13): 9-11 hours, previously it was 10-11
Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours, previously it was 8.5-9.5
Younger adults (18-25): 7-9 hours
Adults (26-64): 7-9 hours, no change from previous
Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours
Do we really understand why the proper amount of sleep is so important? Poor sleep or lack of sleep can have major effects on your quality of life. According to sleep.org, insufficient amounts of sleep have an annual health care costs and lost productivity costs in excess of $66 billion. Drowsy drivers cause over 100,000 traffic accidents and 1,500 deaths a year. Sleep deprivation can also increase your risk for stroke and diabetes, damage your bones and lead to obesity.
The NSF says it’s important to get the amount of sleep you need to function and it should have just as much importance as diet and exercise. For more information and tips on how to get better sleep, visit sleepfoundation.org.
