Your health: How much sleep do kids need?

How much sleep do kids need?

For the first time, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has released official consensus recommendations for the amount of sleep needed to promote optimal health in children and teenagers to avoid the health risks of insufficient sleep.

The daily recommendations in the consensus are:

• Infants 4 to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours (including naps).

• Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours (including naps).

• Children 3 to 4 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours (including naps).

• Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep nine to 12 hours.

• Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep eight to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

“It is especially important as children reach adolescence to continue to ensure that teens are able to get sufficient sleep,” said Dr. Shalini Paruthi, fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Tips to keep your teeth white

Most of us know that coffee, red wine and soy sauce can make your teeth less than sparkling white.

But, Women's Health Magazine warns about other “sneaky teeth-stainers.”

Lemonade: The acidity can erode tooth enamel, revealing the next layer, the dentin, which has a yellow color.

White wine: It can be trouble when combined with certain foods — say a glass of sauvignon blanc followed by pasta with tomato sauce. “It's almost like opening up the pores of the teeth for the stain to actually be sucked in,” experts warn.

Green juice and smoothies: Anything that would stain your clothes and be really difficult to get out, stains your teeth as well. Those super-nutritious smoothies are often packed with bright berries and vegetables that have teeth-tainting qualities. Suggestion: Drink through a straw.

Pools: Speaking of things that are both good and bad for you, the pool you're swimming laps in can actually stain your teeth. “A lot of times you keep your mouth open or let water into the mouth, and those chemicals that treat the pool can actually cause a brown stain in the mouth,” experts say. You have to spend at least six hours on pool time a week for this to happen, but that's not hard to do in the summer.

One general piece of anti-staining advice is to brush after eating. But Maddahi warns you should not brush until 30 minutes after eating if your food was acidic: Brushing too soon actually accelerates any acidic erosion.