Sleep had a direct influence on our cardiology. As far as we know, good sleeping habits are good for your heart. But even if scientists agree on how long a good night sleep should be, there can be particularities according to age and other variables. Which are they ? We at PRS Healthcare, as the leader in the repair of TEE probes, want to tell you more about it.
Broadly speaking
According to the National Sleep Foundation based in Washington DC, healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. But these general recommendations vary according to your age. Therefore, the recommended sleep times are broken down into nine age groups.:
- Newborn (0-3 months old): 14-17 hours
- Infant (4-11 months old):12-15 hours
- Toddler (1-2 years old): 11-14 hours
- Preschool (3-5 years old): 10-13 hours
- School-age (6-13 years old): 9-11 hours
- Teen (14-17 years old): 8-10 hours
- Young adult (18-25 years old): 7-9 hours
- Adult (26-64): 7-9 hours
- Older adult (65 or more years old): 7-8 hours
On a case-by-case basis
These guidelines serve as a rule-of-thumb for how much sleep children and adults need while acknowledging that the ideal amount of sleep can vary from person to person.
The recommendations also acknowledge that, for some people with unique circumstances, there’s some wiggle room on either side of the range for “acceptable,” though still not optimal, amount of sleep. The NSF recommends: “First try to test your own needs and habits. See how you react to different amounts of sleep. Be particularly conscious about your mood, your energy level and your global health after a short night compared to a good night. Ask yourself: “how often do I need a good night’s sleep?”. As food or exercise, sleep is an essential part of your global health.”
A priority… but with balance !
The National Sleep foundation thinks that your sleep should be a priority. “You should plan your night like any other activity, so put it on your to-do list”.
That being said, and even if everyone is different, there is a right balance to find: Less than 6 hours and more than 10 hours of sleep for a healthy adult can be considered too little or too much. Because indeed, too much sleep can be bad for your health, as we, at PRS Healthcare, as the leader in the repair of TEE probes, talked about previously on our blog.
