Health - Do you know your sleep requirement depends on your age?

1. Know how much sleep do you really need

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How much sleep do we need? The simple answer is "it depends". There is no perfect sleep duration that can fit every person, it depends on various factors and age is one of them. The National Sleep Foundation has updated its guidelines on how many hours of sleep people need according to their age.

2. ​Newborns (0-3 months)

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Sleep range should be 14-17 hours each day. Newborn babies need significantly more sleep than adults to support their rapid mental and physical development.

3. Infant (4-11) months

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Sleep range should be 12-15 hours each day. Starting from the fourth month, you’ll notice a change in your baby’s sleep pattern. The baby will stay awake for a longer duration. This period is often called as the "four month regression".

4. Toddlers (1-2 years)

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Sleep range should be 11-14 hours each day. As your little one enters toddlerhood, his sleep needs will gradually begin to decrease. At this point, he should sleep more at night than day.

5. Preschoolers (3-5) years

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Sleep range should be 10-13 hours each day. A preschooler or kindergartner who has outgrown napping, needs a solid 10 to 13 hours of sleep each night, the time that will gradually decrease as he gets older.

6. School age children (6-13) years

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Sleep range should be 9-11 hours each day. Homework and electronic devices keep kids busy at this age, so it's important to set a sleep schedule and enforce a regular bedtime routine.

7. Teenagers (14-17) years

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Sleep range should be 8-10 hours each day. Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week. They typically stay awake late at nights which can affect their biological clocks and affect the quality of their sleep.

8. Younger adults (18-25) years

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Sleep range should be 7-9 hours each day. Healthy aging is associated with reductions in sleep duration which helps in maintaining daytime alertness.

9. Adults (26-64) years

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Sleep range should be 7-9 hours. A specific cluster of neurons associated with regulating sleep patterns, called the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus, may slowly die as you get older. The more of these cells you lose, the harder time you have sleeping.

10. Older adults (65+) years

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Unfortunately, many older adults get less sleep than they need. The reason is that they often have trouble falling asleep. Oldies need a minimum of five hours sleep although ideally, the sleep range should be 7-8 hours.
 (Picture Courtesy: Open source and Pixabay)
 
 Disclaimer: This should not be considered as a substitute for Physician's advice. Please consult your treating Physician for more details.