Are you and your children getting the right amount of sleep? The answer may depend on your ages.
Experts at the National Sleep Foundation have released new guidelines for the recommended amount of sleep, based on age group.
Newborns up to three months old should get between 14 and 17 hours of sleep, while teens should get eight to 10, and those 65 and older need only seven to eight.
The new recommendations are based on two years of research by a panel of 18 scientists.
The biggest change is that most children and teens actually need slightly less sleep than previously thought. The only exception is newborns, who need more sleep.
It's still recommended that everyone older than 18 get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
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The foundation warns against those things that can interferes with our circadian rhythms, or natural sleep/wake cycles, including coffee and energy drinks, alarm clocks, and lights, including those from electronic devices.
NBC's medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar says sleep is essential for growing children.
