Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researcher Lydia DonCarlos, PhD, is a member of an expert panel that's making new recommendations on how much sleep people need.
The panel, convened by the National Sleep Foundation, is making its recommendations based on age, ranging from newborns (who need 14 to 17 hours of sleep per day) to adults aged 65 and up (7 to 8 hours per day).
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researcher Lydia DonCarlos, PhD, is a member of an expert panel that's making new recommendations on how much sleep people need.
The panel, convened by the National Sleep Foundation, is making its recommendations based on age, ranging from newborns (who need 14 to 17 hours of sleep per day) to adults aged 65 and up (7 to 8 hours per day).
In the new guidelines, there's a wider range of what constitutes a good night's sleep. For example, the expert panel recommends that teens (ages 14 to 17) get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. The previous guideline had a narrower recommended range of 8.5 to 9.5 hours per night.
Dr. DonCarlos and other experts on the multidisciplinary panel examined findings from 320 studies reporting sleep duration findings for healthy individuals, effects of reduced or prolonged sleep duration and health consequences of too much or too little sleep. Results are published in Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation.
"The process was very rigorous," Dr. DonCarlos said. Dr. DonCarlos is a professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
The expert panel consists of 12 representatives, including Dr. DonCarlos, who were selected by medical organizations; and six sleep experts selected by the National Sleep Foundation. Dr. DonCarlos represents the American Association of Anatomists.
Sleeping child image via Shutterstock.
Read more at EurekAlert.
