Did you know that how much sleep you actually need changes as you age?

Here’s what The National Sleep Foundation recommends from their studies according to age:

Newborns (0 to 3 months): 14 to 17 hours of sleep

Infants (4 to 11 months): 12 to 15 hours of sleep

Toddlers (1 to 2 years): 11 to 14 hours of sleep

Preschoolers (3 to 5 years): 10 to 13 hours of sleep

School-aged children (6 to 13 years): 9 to 11 hours of sleep

Teenagers (14 to 17 years): 8 to 10 hours of sleep

Young adults (18 to 25 years): 7 to 9 hours of sleep

Adults (26 to 64 years): 7 to 9 hours of sleep

Older adults (65 years or older): 7 to 8 hours of sleep

Sleep is crucial to your health at any age. It helps you maintain a healthy weight, increases metabolism, reduces stress, increases your immune health and much more. Sleep is also very important for mental function which includes memory, mood, alertness and physical health.

If you don’t get enough sleep or have poor sleep, it could lead to many emotional or physical issues in your body and mind. It can contribute especially to obesity or diabetes because sleep loss changes the way your body handles glucose, which leads to insulin resistance also known as pre-diabetes. It could also lead to overeating or poor food choices that lead to obesity.

Women are more prone to light sleeping or easily disrupted sleeping and problems such as depression, major life stressors like divorce or pregnancy, hormonal changes, menopause and other medical problems or sleep disorders. Having children can also greatly disrupt sleep for men and women. Many women actually have undiagnosed sleep disorders.

If you don’t get enough sleep or have trouble falling or staying asleep, you may need to see a doctor or go to a sleep clinic. Try keeping a sleep diary for a week or keeping track of your sleep history and possible factors that could be disrupting your sleep. You might have an undiagnosed sleep disorder that needs to be treated with medication, a device or a weight loss program.

How much sleep do you get a night? Do you need more or less? Share with us!

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