Behka’s Enquiring Minds: Sleeping [SURVEY]

Imagine sleeping as much as 17 hours a day.

That would literally be sleeping your life away but for a newborn, it’s pretty standard.

The National Sleep Foundation has just issued its latest sleep recommendations for Americans, and the suggested amount of sleep for an infant up until three-months-old is 14 to 17 hours daily and then, 12 to 15 hours until they turn one.

In both cases, the previous recommended hours of sleep were 12 to 18 hours and 14 to 15 hours, respectively.

Other National Sleep Foundation recommendations include 11 to 14 hours of shuteye for one-and-two-year-olds, ten to 13 hours for three-to-five-year-olds, nine to 11 hours for kids through the age of 13 and eight-ten hours for teens.

The NSF recommends seven to nine hours of sleep daily for people ages 18 through 64 and seven to eight hours for adults 65 and older.

The foundation determined its sleep duration recommendations after consulting sleep experts and physicians from various fields, including pediatrics, neurology and gerontology.

Now I'm sure that's all well and good, but I don't know a single person who gets the same amount of sleep every night without fail.  We all have busy lives, and sometimes stress can prevent you from winding down.  Okay, so we know what SHOULD be getting... but what's the reality?  I know it says I should get about nine hours, but generally if I get seven I'm okay.  Either way, nothing ever feels like enough when that alarm goes off, if you know what I mean.  Do you feel like you get enough sleep?  How much sleep do you typically get?  What do you do when you have trouble sleeping? Tell me all about it and we'll share your answers on the air while you get points to win prizes.

Sleepily yours,

Behka