Sleep is necessary to thrive, both physically and mentally. So, how much sleep do you actually need? That varies from person to person, as well as across different age groups.

Here’s a guide to estimate how many hours you should aim for every night according to the National Sleep Foundation

• Newborns (0 to 2months) need 12 to 18 hours
• Infants (3 to 11 months) need 14 to 15 hours
• Toddlers (1 to 3 years) need 12 to 14 hours
• Preschoolers (3 to 5 years) need 11 to 13 hours
• School-age children (5 to 10 years) need 10 to 11 hours
• Teens (10 to 17 years) need 8.5 to 9.25 hours
• Adults need 7 to 9 hours

Myth 1: Getting just one hour less sleep per night won’t affect your daytime functioning.

You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day. But as anyone who have lived through a time change will tell you, even slightly less sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly, as well as compromise your cardiovascular health, energy balance, and ability to fight infections.

Myth 2: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules.

Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues — and even then, by a couple hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift.

Myth 3: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue.

Not only is the quantity of sleep important but also the quality of sleep. Some people sleep eight or nine hours a night but don’t feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor.

Myth 4: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends.

Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your biological clock so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings.

Get help for sleep struggles

If you’re having problems sleeping more than three times a week for a month, see your health care provider and ask for a referral to Salem Health’s Sleep Center to be evaluated for a sleep disorder.

You will be seen by a sleep medicine specialist who will identify possible sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome.

Depending on your needs, sleep testing can be performed in your home or in the state-of-the-art sleep laboratory at Salem Hospital by experienced, licensed sleep technologists.

Identifying and treating the cause of your sleep disturbance can help get you back on the road to a good night’s sleep and improved health.