Elsevier

Sleep Health

Volume 1, Issue 1, March 2015, Pages 40-43
Sleep Health

National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

The objective was to conduct a scientifically rigorous update to the National Sleep Foundation’s sleep duration recommendations.

Methods

The National Sleep Foundation convened an 18-member multidisciplinary expert panel, representing 12 stakeholder organizations, to evaluate scientific literature concerning sleep duration recommendations. We determined expert recommendations for sufficient sleep durations across the lifespan using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method.

Results

The panel agreed that, for healthy individuals with normal sleep, the appropriate sleep duration for newborns is between 14 and 17 hours, infants between 12 and 15 hours, toddlers between 11 and 14 hours, preschoolers between 10 and 13 hours, and school-aged children between 9 and 11 hours. For teenagers, 8 to 10 hours was considered appropriate, 7 to 9 hours for young adults and adults, and 7 to 8 hours of sleep for older adults.

Conclusions

Sufficient sleep duration requirements vary across the lifespan and from person to person. The recommendations reported here represent guidelines for healthy individuals and those not suffering from a sleep disorder. Sleep durations outside the recommended range may be appropriate, but deviating far from the normal range is rare. Individuals who habitually sleep outside the normal range may be exhibiting signs or symptoms of serious health problems or, if done volitionally, may be compromising their health and well-being.

Introduction

The National Sleep Foundation’s (NSF’s) mission is to improve health and well-being through sleep health education and advocacy. Notably, the NSF provides the public with the most up-to-date, scientifically rigorous sleep health recommendations. Millions of individuals each year seek guidance regarding sleep duration sufficiency from the NSF website. Additionally, the recommendations are widely cited and distributed by other organizations. To this end, the NSF convened a multidisciplinary expert panel, conducted a systematic literature review, and used the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RAM)1 to formulate age-specific sleep duration recommendations.

Section snippets

Participants and methods

The NSF assembled a multidisciplinary expert panel comprised of both sleep experts and experts in other areas of medicine, physiology, and science. This approach provided varying perspectives regarding sleep duration. The 18-member expert panel included 12 representatives selected by stakeholder organizations and 6 sleep experts chosen by the NSF. Stakeholder organizations included the following: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Anatomists, American College of Chest

Results

Sleep durations with median appropriateness scores ranging from 1-3 were classified as inappropriate, those in the 4-6 range were classified as uncertain, and those in the 7-9 range were classified as appropriate. Divergent opinion among panelists was defined as more than 20% (ie, 3 of 18 panel members) voting outside any 3-point range (ie, 1-3, 4-6, or 7-9) of the median. Also, all sleep durations rated "with disagreement," whatever the median, were classified as uncertain.

Each sleep duration

Discussion

The NSF conducted a systematic literature review, convened an expert panel, and used quantitative techniques to summarize expert opinion concerning recommended sleep durations. We updated the NSF’s age-related sleep duration recommendations based on these results. Importantly, the panel emphasized that some individuals might sleep longer or shorter than the recommended times with no adverse effects. However, individuals with sleep durations far outside the normal range may be engaging in

Acknowledgements

Literature review team: John Herman, PhD; David Brown, PhD; and Chelsea Vaughn, PhD.

Research assistants: Jenna Faulkner, Luca Calzoni, Ben Getchell, and Taylor Nelson.

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  • D.L. Sackett et al.

    Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't

    BMJ

    (1996)

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