The importance of sleep cannot be underestimated, it is vital in maintaining our overall health and well-being. To put this into perspective we spend a third of our lives sleeping. As a parent/professional we know when we have struggled to sleep, or have been deprived of sleep our mental and physical health is hugely affected, and impacts negatively upon on lives.
As a child/young person it is crucial that sleep is maintained throughout their lives as it impacts on their ability to function, socially, emotionally and intellectually. Recently we have seen changes to sleep recommendations for all, see below:
- Pre-schoolers (3-5yrs) 10-13 hours
- Schools aged children (6-13yrs) 9-11 hours
- Teenagers (14-17) 8-10 hours
- Adults (17-65) 7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+) 7-8 hours (need reference)
If you notice that a child/young person appears tired all the time, then please be curious with the child/young person and family to find out if there is anything happing in their environment, both in the community and also at school.
For further information surrounding sleep, including research, and solutions to support sleep please click on the link below: