How much sleep do you really need?

Sleep is very important; while you’re asleep, your body and brain prepare for the next day. Your brain forms new pathways to help you learn and process information. Sleep is therefore a crucial indicator of overall health and well-being.

The quality of your sleep directly affects your mental and physical health as well as your productivity, emotional balance, brain and heart health, immune system, creativity, and vitality. This means that sleep also plays an important role in the functioning of our brains. A serious lack of sleep has a severe effect on the parts of our brains that control language, memory, planning and creation; these parts of the brain will then be deactivated. Needless to say: you need to get enough sleep. But how many hours of sleep do you really need? It depends on your age!

1. Babies:

• 1 – 4 weeks: 15 – 17 hours of sleep per day / 24 hours
• 1 – 4 months: 14 – 15 hours of sleep a day / 24 hours
• 4 – 12 months: 14 – 15 hours of sleep a day / 24 hours

2. Toddlers

• 1 – 3 years: 12 – 14 hours of sleep a day / 24 hours
• 3 – 6 years: 10 – 12 hours of sleep a day / 24 hours

3. Kids

• 6 – 12 years: 10 – 11 hours sleep a day / 24 hours

4. Teenagers

• 12 – 18 years: 8 – 10 hours of sleep a day / 24 hours

5. Adults

• 18 years and older: 7 – 8 hours sleep a day / 24 hours

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