Sleep is something inevitable; whoever you are or whatever capabilities you might have, you will need and need sleep throughout the course of life. As a matter of fact, sleeping is an essential part of growing up.
Do you remember when you were a kid? Your parents always told you that if you don’t sleep well or if you sleep late, you will not grow up and you will just remain on your height forever. Although some part of it is true, you won’t be a 4-foot-child forever.
Read: DIY Recipes That Could Help You Fall Asleep
But what does improper sleep do to our bodies?
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) conducted a few studies that would later expound on what the importance of proper and correct amount of sleep is. If you thought that sleeping is just a thing done by the average human being, think again.
According to their definition of sleep, it is a vital indicator of our overall well-being and our overall health. As a matter of fact, throughout our entire lives, we spend a total of one-third (1/3) sleeping. However, the main state of our “sleep health” still remains as a question throughout our lives.
Even deep research can’t really pinpoint the exact amount of sleep needed by people in various ages, the new chart made by the NSF features both the minimum and the maximum ranges for our health. More so, the recommended windows would be further identified as the “rule-of-thumb” that a majority of experts gave a nod on.
The panel made revisions as to the recommended sleep for all ranges. This new chart involved all six (6) children including the teen age group/s to young adults, adults, and older adults.
Newborns (0-3 months old)
Their sleep ranged was narrowed to just fourteen (14) to seventeen (17) hours of sleep each day. It was previously a wide twelve (12) to eighteen (18) hours.
Read: What Time Does Your Kid Need Go To Sleep? This Sleep Chart Will Explain It All
Infants (4-11 months old)
The sleep ranged by the people in this age range was widened to twelve (12) to fifteen (15) hours from the previous fourteen (14) to fifteen (15) hours of sleep in a day.
Toddlers (1 to 2 years old)
Toddlers, on the other hand had their sleep ranges widened from the original twelve (12) to fourteen (14) hours of sleep daily, to eleven (11) to fourteen (14) hours a day.
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years old)
On the other hand, the slightly older batch of people had their sleep ranges widened by one (1) hours to ten (10) to thirteen (13) hours from the previous eleven (11) to thirteen (13) hours.
School-aged children (6 to 13 years old)
Their sleep range widened by one (1) hour from the previous ten (10) to eleven (11) hour sleep daily to nine (9) to eleven (11) hours of sleep in a day.
Teenagers (14 to 17 years old)
Teenagers’ sleep ranges were widened by an hour (1 hour) from 8.5 to 9.5 hours to eight (8) to ten (10) hours of sleep daily.
Read: Dietary Supplements to Help You Get Better Sleep
Younger adults (18 to 25 years old)
Younger adults are actually a new age category. So, there were no previous sleep ranges for them. However, this time around, they have a sleep requirement range of seven (7) to nine (9) hours of sleep daily.
Adults (26 to 64 years old)
The only age range in the group that did not have any modifications, the sleep range for adults remained from seven (7) to nine (9) hours, technically the same as the younger adults since that is also the path they are going to, anyways.
Read: Sleep Deprivation Warning Signs Your Body Might be Telling You
Older adults (65 years old and above)
Last but most definitely not the least, older adults whom we most often refer to as the senior citizens, are required to sleep for seven (7) to eight (8) hours daily.
As you may have noticed, as people grow older and older, their sleep range becomes less and less. Why? Because as children, sleep is one thing we need in order for us to recover the energy we have lost the day prior.
Becoming adults, however, we grow used to diet, supplements, medication, exercise, and other things which help our body/ies recover from the activities the day before gave us.
Here is an infographic coming from the National Sleep Foundation’s website // www.sleepfoundation.org which talks about sleep. This contains some sleep benefits we might not be aware of, some of the best tips to help us fall asleep faster, and some other tips related to our sleep and sleeping patterns and habits.
Read: Why You Should Sleep On The Left Side Backed by Science
Are you sleeping in the best way that you can? Can you ensure that how you sleep is really the recommended in your specific age range? Check on your sleep range now and balance your sleep as soon as possible!
