New Sleep Duration Recommendations for Most Age Groups

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) has issued new sleep duration recommendations, with wider appropriate sleep ranges for most age groups. The guidelines have been published in Sleep Health: The Official Journal of the National Sleep Foundation.

Experts from stakeholder organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Neurological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and others revised the recommended sleep ranges for all six children and teen age groups based on published scientific studies on sleep and health. The ranges include:

Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours each day (previously 12-18)
Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours (previously 14-15)
Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours (previously 12-14)
Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours (previously 11-13)
School age children (6-13): 9-11 hours (previously 10-11)
Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours (previously 8.5-9.5)
Younger adults (18-25): 7-9 hours (new age category)
Adults (26-64): Unchanged (remains 7-9 hours)
Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours (new age category)

A new range, “may be appropriate,” is now included to acknowledge the individual variability in appropriate sleep durations. Times are now defined in the recommendations as either (a) recommended; (b) may be appropriate for some individuals; or (c) not recommended.

For more information visit SleepFoundation.org.

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