The National Sleep Foundation released new guidelines on how much slumber one should actually be getting.
The Foundation released the results of a two-year-long sleep study in celebration of its 25th anniversary. The study included 18 lead scientists and researchers that made the recommendations as appointed members of an expert panel.
"Millions of individuals trust the National Sleep Foundation for its sleep duration recommendations. As the voice for sleep health it is the NSF's responsibility to make sure that our recommendations are supported by the most rigorous science," said Charles Czeisler, chairman of the board of the National Sleep Foundation and chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "Individuals, particularly parents, rely on us for this information."
Researchers cannot pinpoint the exact amount of sleep needed by individuals at different ages, but the new chart includes minimum and maximum ranges and "recommended" hours.
"The NSF has committed to regularly reviewing and providing scientifically rigorous recommendations," said Max Hirshkowitz, chair of the National Sleep Foundation Scientific Advisory Council. "The public can be confident that these recommendations represent the best guidance for sleep duration and health."
The panel advised: newborns should get between 14 and 17 hours of sleep a day (previous recommendations said 12 to 18); Infants of 4 to 11 months should get 12 to 15 (previously it was 14 to 15); Toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2 years should get 11 to 14 hours (previously was 12 to 14); preschoolers between the ages of 3 and 5 should get 10 to 13 hours (previously was 11 to 13); school-aged children between 6 and 13 should get 9 to 11 hours (previously was 10 to 11); teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 should get 8 to 10 hours (previously was 8.5 to 9.5); younger adults between the ages of 18 and 25 should get 7 to 9 hours (this is a new category); adults should get 7 to 9 hours (this recommendation did not change); and older adults aged 65 and up should get 7 hours (this is a new category).
The Foundation said in order to get a good night's sleep one should assess their own individual needs to see how they respond to different sleep durations.
"Pay careful attention to your mood, energy and health after a poor night's sleep versus a good one. Ask yourself, 'How often do I get a good night's sleep?' Like good diet and exercise, sleep is a critical component to overall health," the Foundation stated.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Sleep Health.
