America’s Kids Aren’t Catching Enough Z’s

A new poll out from the National Sleep Foundation reveals that many kids, from infants to 10-year-olds, aren’t logging enough hours of sleep.


l>The 2004 Sleep in America poll found that children in every one of those age groups aren’t meeting even the low end of the range of sleeping hours recommended by the experts. The poll resulted from telephone interviews with 1,473 adult caregivers of children, ages 10 and younger, last fall. Among the findings:


l>• Infants (ages 3-11 months) generally sleep 12.7 hours a day, compared to the recommended 14-15 hours.


l>• Toddlers (ages 12-35 months) sleep 11.7 hours, compared to a recommended 12-14 hours.


l>• Preschoolers (ages 3-5 and 6-year-olds in kindergarten) sleep 10.4 hours, while experts recommend 11-13 hours.


l>• School-aged kids (in first through fifth grades) sleep 9.5 hours, compared to a recommended 10-11 hours.


l>The poll also found that parents or caregivers aren’t always aware of how much sleep their kids need or of the best ways to help them get that sleep. Of those polled, 76 percent say they would like to change their children’s sleep habits. More than half the parents polled reported that their child’s physicians don’t ask about the child’s sleep habits, even though 69 percent of parents say their kids have sleep-related problems.


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