Sleeping hours: what is the ideal number and how does age impact this?

Figures & data

Figure 1 Normal self-reported sleep durations in children aged 0–12 years.

Note: The mean reference values are from a meta-analysis of 34 studies from 18 countries.⁴⁴
Abbreviations: m, months; y, years.

Figure 2 Normal actigraphy-determined sleep duration values in children aged 3–18 years.

Note: The mean reference values are from a meta-analysis of 79 studies from 17 countries.⁴⁵

Table 1 Sleep duration recommendations in the US and Canada

National sleep foundation (US)		AASM/SRS (US)		24-hour movement guidelines (Canada)
Age group	Recommendation	Age group	Recommendation	Age group	Recommendation
Newborns (0–3 months)	14–17 hours	Newborns (0–3 months)	Not included	Newborns (0–3 months)	14–17 hours
Infants (4–11 months)	12–15 hours	Infants (4–11 months)	12–16 hours	Infants (4–11 months)	12–16 hours
Toddlers (1–2 years)	11–14 hours	Toddlers (1–2 years)	11–14 hours	Toddlers (1–2 years)	11–14 hours
Preschoolers (3–5 years)	10–13 hour	Preschoolers (3–5 years)	10–13 hours	Preschoolers (3–4 years)	10–13 hours
Children (6–13 years)	9–11 hours	Children (6–12 years)	9–12 hours	Children (5–13 years)	9–11 hours
Teenagers (14–17 years)	8–10 hours	Teenagers (13–17 years)	8–10 hours	Teenagers (14–17 years)	8–10 hours
Young adults (18–25 years)	7–9 hours	Adults (18–60 years)	≥7 hours	Adults (18–64 years)	In development
Adults (26–64 years)	7–9 hours			Older adults (≥65 years)	In development
Older adults (≥65 years)	7–8 hours

Note: Papers describing the sleep duration recommendations can be found elsewhere.^47–51

Abbreviations: AASM, American Academy of Sleep Medicine; SRS, Sleep Research Society.

Figure 3 Sleep duration estimates of Canadians (dashed line) compared with the sleep duration recommendation ranges (solid lines).

Notes: Sleep duration estimates for the Canadian population have been recently published.^65–67 However, they are not available for newborns, infants, or toddlers. Canadians sleeping less than recommended for optimal health is estimated at 16% for preschoolers, 20% for school-aged children, 30% for teenagers, 32% for adults, and 31% for older adults.

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