How much sleep do you really need?
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Behavioural Sciences
We all know those people who say they can get by on five or six hours of sleep a night — but chances are, they’re lying (or just forcing themselves along, fueled by coffee).
On February 2, the National Sleep Foundation released its newest guidelines for how many hours of sleep people need every night, and while it didn’t change its recommendations of seven to nine hours of shuteye for adults, pretty much all other age groups saw some slight tweaks in the normal range.
Every individual needs a certain amount of sleep, and though there are ways to understand your personal sleep needs better, this chart should give you a guideline on what is healthy for you and your family.
When reading the chart below, know that the vast majority of people fit into the dark blue category for their age group. Most outliers fit into the teal bracket on both sides of the dark blue, and it’s incredibly rare for it to be healthy for anyone to sleep more or less than those amounts.
Do you get enough sleep?
This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.
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Author: Kevin Loria writes about health and science for Business Insider.
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