The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) released updated recommendations, which have been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), on the optimal amount of sleep for children of different ages. Teenagers should sleep 8 to 10 hours per night while younger children 6- to 12-years old need 9 to 12 hours. These recommendations are significant because they represent the first time that any professional organization has developed age-specific recommended sleep durations based on a rigorous, systematic review of the world scientific literature (AASM authors reviewed 864 scientific articles) relating sleep duration to health, performance and safety.

In our nation, the majority of teenagers are not obtaining the recommended amount of sleep, due in large part to early school start times which are in direct conflict with a biologic shift in the teenager’s sleep schedule, causing their natural bedtime and wake time to move later.