New Pediatric Sleep Recommendations Released

The first official consensus recommendations for the amount of sleep needed to promote optimal health in children and adolescents has been released by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

In order to avoid the health risks of insufficient sleep, the AASM recommends the following:

Infants 4–12 months should sleep 12–16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
Children 1–2 years of age should sleep 11–14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
Children 3–5 years of age should sleep 10–13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
Children 6–12 years of age should sleep 9–12 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
Teenagers 13–18 years of age should sleep 8–10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

The recommendations are based on a 10-month project conducted by a panel of 13 sleep experts, who reviewed 864 scientific articles discussing the relationship between sleep duration and health in children. The panel evaluated the evidence using a formal grading system and reached final recommendations after multiple rounds of voting.

The Pediatric Consensus Panel concluded that sleeping less than the recommended hours can cause problems with attention, behavior, and learning. Also, it can increase the risk of accidents, injuries,hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression, as well as self-harm, suicidal thoughts and attempts in teenagers.

Sleeping more than the recommended hours may be linked to adverse outcomes such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and psychiatric disorders, the Panel also found.

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