Humans, like all animals, need sleep, along with food, water and oxygen, to survive. For humans sleep is a vital indicator of overall health and well-being. We spend up to one-third of our lives asleep, and the overall state of our “ sleep health ” remains an essential question throughout our lifespan.

Most of us know that getting a good night’s sleep is important, but too few of us actually make those eight or so hours between the sheets a priority. For many of us with sleep debt , we’ve forgotten what “being really, truly rested” feels like.

To further complicate matters, stimulants like coffee and energy drinks, alarm clocks, and external lights—including those from electronic devices—interferes with our “ circadian rhythm ” or natural sleep/wake cycle.

The US based National Sleep Foundation on the eve of its 25th anniversary has released the results of a world-class study that took more than two years of research to complete – an update to our most-cited guidelines on how much sleep you really need at each age.

The Sleep Foundation is chaired by Charles Czeisler, MD, PhD,who doubles as chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

We share the guide with you:

The Sleep Chart for all ages

For more sleep information,please check: http://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need