Recommendations for the necessary hours of sleep in children start with 16 hours for infants and at least eight hours of sleep for teenagers.
A guideline has been published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
It includes recommendations from different pediatricians for different age groups regarding their sleep needs.
According to them, adequate sleep is associated with improved attention, behavior, learning, physical and mental health at any age.
In addition, insufficient sleep increases the possibility of diabetes, accidents, depression, and among teenagers, self-injury and suicide attempts.
The recommended hours are as follows:
12 – 16 hours for babies 4-12 months
11 - 14 hours for children 1-2 years old
10 - 13 hours for children 3-5 years old
9 - 12 hours for children 6-12 years old
