How much sleep does your body need as you age?

MANILA, Philippines – Ever wonder how many hours does each person need per day?

We spend a third of our lives sleeping. But the question that remains unanswered is, how much sleep is enough to keep our body at its optimum state?

For their 25th anniversary, National Sleep Foundation,  a nonprofit aimed at promoting healthy sleep and safety, released the results of a  study about how much sleep a person really needs at each age.

For more than two years,  leading scientists and researchers reviewed over 300 studies on how much sleep is ideal.  According to the study, sleep needs vary across ages and are especially impacted by lifestyle and health.

Here's how much sleep your body needs each day to perform well:

• Newborns (0-3 months ):  14-17 hours
• Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours 
• Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours 
• Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours 
• School age children (6-13): 9-11 hours 
• Teenagers (14-17): 8-10 hours 
• Younger adults (18-25):  7-9 hours 
• Adults (26-64):  7-9 hours
• Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours 

Although there is an ideal number, the researchers said that there is no magic number since sleep recommendation is still affected by several factors such as if your basal sleep need or the amount of sleep your body needs on a regular basis for optimal performance is affected by your sleep debt or the accumulated sleep that’s lost from poor sleep habits, sickness, awakenings from environmental factors and others.