Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Special Article

Never Enough Sleep: A Brief History of Sleep Recommendations for Children

Lisa Anne Matricciani, Tim S. Olds, Sarah Blunden, Gabrielle Rigney and Marie T. Williams
Pediatrics March 2012, 129 (3) 548-556; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-2039
Lisa Anne Matricciani
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tim S. Olds
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Sarah Blunden
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Gabrielle Rigney
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marie T. Williams
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: There is a common belief that children are not getting enough sleep and that children’s total sleep time has been declining. Over the century, many authors have proposed sleep recommendations. The aim of this study was to describe historical trends in recommended and actual sleep durations for children and adolescents, and to explore the rationale of sleep recommendations.

METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify recommendations for children’s sleep requirements and data reporting children’s actual total sleep time. For each recommendation identified, children’s actual sleep time was determined by identifying studies reporting the sleep duration of children of the same age, gender, and country in the same years. Historical trends in age-adjusted recommended sleep times and trends in children’s actual sleep time were calculated. A thematic analysis was conducted to determine the rationale and evidence-base for recommendations.

RESULTS: Thirty-two sets of recommendations were located dating from 1897 to 2009. On average, age-specific recommended sleep decreased at the rate of –0.71 minute per year. This rate of decline was almost identical to the decline in the actual sleep duration of children (–0.73 minute per year). Recommended sleep was consistently ∼37 minutes greater than actual sleep, although both declined over time.

CONCLUSIONS: A lack of empirical evidence for sleep recommendations was universally acknowledged. Inadequate sleep was seen as a consequence of “modern life,” associated with technologies of the time. No matter how much sleep children are getting, it has always been assumed that they need more.

KEY WORDS
  • adolescents
  • children
  • recommendations
  • sleep
  • Accepted November 9, 2011.
  • Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 129, Issue 3
1 Mar 2012
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Never Enough Sleep: A Brief History of Sleep Recommendations for Children
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Never Enough Sleep: A Brief History of Sleep Recommendations for Children
Lisa Anne Matricciani, Tim S. Olds, Sarah Blunden, Gabrielle Rigney, Marie T. Williams
Pediatrics Mar 2012, 129 (3) 548-556; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-2039

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Never Enough Sleep: A Brief History of Sleep Recommendations for Children
Lisa Anne Matricciani, Tim S. Olds, Sarah Blunden, Gabrielle Rigney, Marie T. Williams
Pediatrics Mar 2012, 129 (3) 548-556; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-2039
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • Discussion
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Engineering a Mobile Platform to Promote Sleep in the Pediatric Primary Care Setting
  • Sleep: population epidemiology and concordance in Australian children aged 11-12 years and their parents
  • Assessment and initial management of suspected behavioural insomnia in pre-adolescent children
  • Cardiovascular disease risk factor clustering in children and adolescents: a prospective cohort study
  • Sleep Duration and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
  • INSIGHT Responsive Parenting Intervention and Infant Sleep
  • An Integrative Review of Sleep for Nutrition Professionals
  • Chronic Sleep Curtailment and Adiposity
  • Children's sleep patterns from 0 to 9 years: Australian population longitudinal study
  • Napping helps preschoolers learn
  • Sleep Duration and Adolescent Obesity
  • Impact of Sleep Extension and Restriction on Children's Emotional Lability and Impulsivity
  • Sleep Recommendations for Children: A Need for More Data
  • A Letter to the Editor in Defense of Sleep Recommendations
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Enrolling Minors in COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
  • Perspectives on Race and Medicine in the NICU
  • Genes, Environments, and Time: The Biology of Adversity and Resilience
Show more Special Article

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics