Healthy Sleep

Sleep is Essential

Along with nutrition and exercise, sleep is one of the three pillars of a healthy lifestyle. Healthy sleep improves your health and quality of life in a variety of ways. Healthy sleep involves making the right choices to prioritize and protect sleep. 

Infants & Children

To promote optimal health, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that children get the following amounts of sleep on a regular basis: 

• Infants 4 months to 12 months old: 12 to 16 hours (including naps) 
• Children 1 to 2 years old: 11 to 14 hours (including naps) 
• Children 3 to 5 years old: 10 to 13 hours (including naps) 
• Children 6 to 12 years old: 9 to 12 hours 

Teens

During adolescence, a natural shift occurs in the timing of the body’s internal circadian clock. As a result most teens tend to have a biological preference for a late-night bedtime and later wake time. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teens 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Adults

Healthy sleep requires adequate duration, good quality, appropriate timing and regularity, and the absence of sleep disturbances or disorders. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults should sleep 7 hours or more per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health.  

Men

Men are more likely to have sleep-related breathing disorders like obstructive sleep apnea.  

Women

There are many factors that could potentially disrupt and disturb a woman’s sleep including life events, depression, illness, bad sleep habits, medication use and physical or hormonal changes.