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National Sleep Foundation updates its sleep duration recommendations

The National Sleep Foundation released updated sleep time duration recommendations for healthy individuals, according to data recently published in Sleep Health.

“Sufficient sleep duration requirements vary across the lifespan and from person to person,” Kaitlyn Whiton, MHS, of the National Sleep Foundation, and colleagues wrote. “The recommendations […] represent guidelines for healthy individuals and those not suffering from a sleep disorder.”

Kaitlyn Whiton

An 18-member multidisciplinary expert panel from the National Sleep Foundation performed a systematic literature review of 312 studies, published between 2004 and 2014, focusing on research regarding sleep duration data, effects of reduced or prolonged sleep duration and health consequences of too much or too little sleep. Suggested sleep duration times were determined using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method.

The update broadens the range of time necessary for sleep duration per age category, according to a press release. For instance, a previous guideline recommended teens aged 14 to 17 years sleep a narrower range of 8.5 to 9.5 hours per night which was widened in the current guidelines to 8 to 10 hours per night.

Updated sleep duration recommendations are:

• newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours/day;
• infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours/day;
• toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours/day;
• preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours/day;
• school age (6-13 years): 9-11 hours/day;
• teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours/day;
• young adults (18-25 years): 7-9 hours/day;
• adults (26-64 years): 7-9 hours/day; and
• older adults (≥ 65 years) 7-8 hours/day. 

The researchers said sleep requirements differ from person to person. Sleeping a longer or shorter time than recommended is rare, but may not cause adverse effects in all people.

“Individuals with sleep durations far outside the normal range may be engaging in volitional sleep restriction or have serious health problems. An individual who intentionally restricts sleep over a prolonged period may be compromising his or her health and well-being,” Whiton and colleagues wrote.

“The National Sleep Foundation encourages physicians to consider sleep a vital component for the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. Physicians who ask their patients about sleep contribute to improved health and wellbeing, better care (eg, patient engagement, adherence to treatment) and lower healthcare costs,” Whiton told Healio.com/Internal Medicine.– by Casey Hower

Disclosure: Healio.com/Internal Medicine could not confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.