I don't know about you but I am tired! Or should I say sleep deprived. My intentions are always good but, I never seem to get everything done in a day that I need, or want to. One of my famous lines is... "If I didn't need to sleep imagine how much more I could get done!" Sadly, I'm trying to get away from that premise. But life just keeps throwing things my way. It got me to thinking, at 49, how much sleep do I really need?

According to the National Sleep Foundation, If you're in your 40s, you should be sleeping between seven and nine hours every night, but the chances are fairly good that you don't. And apparently, how much sleep we need to function at the top of our game varies by age.

With a newborn grandchild, that baby pretty much eats, and sleeps, and thats about it. That makes sense right? Obviously, a toddler needs more sleep than his 20 or 30 something parents. But how much more? The National Sleep Foundation tapped the wisdom of six sleep experts, as well as 12 experts from several medical associations, including the American Neurological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Physiological Society, and recently updated its guidelines on how much sleep we need based on our age.

According to the study, this is how much sleep we need by age:

  • Newborn (0-3 months): 14-17 hours (previously: 12-18 hours)
  • Infant (4-11 months): 12-15 hours (previously: 14-15 hours)
  • Toddler (1-2 years): 11-14 hours (previously: 12-14 hours)
  • Pre-school (3-5 years): 10-13 hours (previously: 11-13 hours)
  • School age (6-13 years): 9-11 hours (previously: 10-11 hours)
  • Teen (14-17 years): 8-10 hours (previously: 8.5-9.5 hours)
  • Young adult (18-25 years): 7-9 hours (new category)
  • Adult (26-64 years): 7-9 hours (no change)
  • Older adult (65+ years): 7-8 hours (new category)

Well now we know. At least I now have a goal to shoot for.....don't think I'll be meeting it for awhile. How bout you?

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