Improve Your Health and Wellbeing by Getting the Sleep You Need
From the National Sleep Foundation
Sleep is essential to your health and feeling rested and alert. Not getting the sleep you need can not only affect your day-to-day performance, but it also can increase your risk for serious health conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and mental illness.[1] Lack of sleep can also increase the likelihood of workplace mistakes and car accidents. That’s why it’s so important to practice good sleep habits to get good healthy sleep.
Healthy sleep begins with two natural internal processes that help keep our bodies on track. The first process increases our need to sleep the longer we are awake. The second process, the circadian rhythm, runs on a 24-hour cycle where we feel most awake during the day and sleepiest at night.
How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Need?
There is no precise number of minutes or hours of sleep a night that guarantees you will wake up feeling totally refreshed. But based on your age and lifestyle, what’s recommended for you likely falls within a certain range.
Newborns: From 0-3 months, need between 14 and 17 hours of sleep. This includes daytime naps, since newborns rarely sleep through the night. Older infants (4-11 months) need about 12 to 15 hours of sleep each day.
Toddlers: Between the first and second year of life, toddlers need between 11 and 14 hours of sleep each night.
Children: Preschoolers (3-5 years) should get 10 to 13 hours, while school-age kids (6-13 years) should strive for nine to 11 hours each night.
Teenagers: As kids get older, their need for sleep decreases slightly. Teens (14-17 years) require about eight to 10 hours of nightly sleep.
Adults: Between the ages of 18 and 64, adults should aim for seven to nine hours of nightly sleep. If you’re older than 65, you may need a little less: seven to eight hours is recommended.
Making Time for SLEEP
Follow these helpful SLEEP tips to help you sleep better.
Structure
Establish a regular routine and structure. Set times for sleep and wake.
Light
Spend time in natural light. Whether outdoors or inside, bright daylight helps you feel alert.
Electronics
Limit use of electronics before bed. Turn off electronics an hour before bed.
Exercise
Exercise regularly. Physical activity increases your drive to sleep at night, reduces stress and improves mood.
Prioritize
Prioritize your sleep by reinforcing the benefits of sleep for you and your family. Model good sleep habits to help children understand the importance of sleep.
Use the NSF Sleep Diary® to Improve Your Sleep
Keeping a sleep diary is a great place to discover how you’re sleeping. As you record your habits and sleep patterns, you’ll start to see what may be hurting your sleep along with what you do on the nights you sleep better.
Using the NSF Sleep Diary is easy and takes just a few minutes each day. Be sure to complete the diary every day for two weeks, before you go to bed and when you wake up for the day. Then you can review your answers to find sleep patterns and use our SLEEP tips to help improve your sleep. Be sure to share your completed diary with your healthcare professional if you have any sleep issues.
For more helpful guides and facts about the importance of your sleep, check out National Sleep Foundation’s sleep health resources at thensf.org.
Am I Getting Enough Sleep? National Sleep Foundation.