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How many hours should I sleep?

 

How many hours should I sleep?

 

The sleep across the life span, 1/3 of the time will be spent In sleep.


 

Individuals vary greatly in their need for sleep; there are no established criteria to determine exactly how much sleep a person needs. Eight hours or more may be necessary for some people, while others may consider this to be too much sleep.

  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that most average adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.Newborn babies, by contrast, sleep from 16 to 18 hours a day. Preschool-aged childrentypically sleep between 10 and 12 hours a day. Older, school-aged children and teensneed at least 9 hours of sleep a night. Women in the first trimester of pregnancyhave been observed to need a few more hours’ sleep than is usual for them.


Infantsor newborn babies (up to 2 months) need 10.5-18 hours over a 24-hour cycle. Sleep is definitely a priority for new babies and they need a lot of sleep to grow and develop. From 2-18 months, the average baby requires 13-15 hours of sleep.

 

Around 18 months and during thetoddleror pre-school age, children need around 11-14 hours of sleep. When children reach the age of 5 they need 10 hours at night. Most children give up a nap by the age of 5.

 

Adolescentsneed about as much sleep as when they were younger—8 ½ - 9 ½ hours. Although teens are often involved in activities that deprive them of sleep, it is just as important to their development. Teens experience a lot of daytime sleepiness due to chronic sleep deprivation.

 

Adultsperform best with 7-9 hours although most adults get between 4 and 10 hours of sleep.

 

Contrary to a common myth,older adultsneed just as much sleep as younger adults; however, they often have more medical or sleep problems, they often do not sleep as efficiently due to pain, discomfort or disruptions and may not experience as much deep sleep as they age.

  

Newborns/

Infants

0 - 2 months

2 - 12 months

16-18 hours

14-15 hours

Toddlers/

Children

12 - 18 months

18 months - 3 yrs.

3 - 5 yrs.

5 - 12 yrs.

13-15 hours

12-14 hours

11-13 hours

10-11 hours

Adolescents/Young Adults

12-18yrs

8.5-10 hours

Adults/Older Persons

18+

7-9 hours