How Much Sleep Do You Need? Hours By Age And Lifestyle

Last updated October 3, 2026

Recommended Hours Of Sleep By Age

The figures below are the age ranges published by the NHLBI. They reflect American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommendations that the American Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed, and they count naps for young children (NHLBI).

Age	Recommended sleep per 24 hours	Notes
Newborns under 4 months	No set range	Sleep patterns vary widely at this age
Babies 4 to 12 months	12 to 16 hours	Including naps
Children 1 to 2 years	11 to 14 hours	Including naps
Children 3 to 5 years	10 to 13 hours	Including naps
Children 6 to 12 years	9 to 12 hours	Night sleep
Teens 13 to 18 years	8 to 10 hours	Night sleep
Adults 18 and older	7 hours or more (usually 7 to 9)	More than 9 can suit young adults, people who are ill or catching up
Older adults	7 to 9 hours	About the same as younger adults, often earlier in the evening

Sources: NHLBI recommended amounts, NHLBI adult range, AASM and SRS, NIA. Sleep experts consider naps appropriate for children under age 7 (NHLBI).

For baby routines by month, see our baby sleep schedule by age. For teenagers, whose late body clock often collides with early school starts, see teen sleep deprivation.

How Much Sleep Do Adults Need?

In 2015 a panel of sleep experts convened by the AASM and the Sleep Research Society reviewed the evidence and issued a short joint statement (AASM and SRS):

• Adults should sleep 7 or more hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Regularly sleeping less than 7 hours is linked with weight gain and obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, depression and a higher risk of death, as well as weaker immune function, more pain, worse performance, more errors and more accidents.
• Sleeping more than 9 hours a night may be appropriate for young adults, for people recovering from sleep debt and for people who are ill.

Notice the wording: 7 hours is a floor, not a target. The NHLBI says adults who sleep less than 7 hours may have more health issues than those who sleep 7 or more, and that sleeping more than 9 hours is not necessarily harmful (NHLBI). Older adults need about the same amount as other adults, 7 to 9 hours, although they tend to go to bed and get up earlier than they did when younger (NIA).

Why Sleep Needs Differ From Person To Person

The age ranges are a rule of thumb. Experts accept that the ideal amount of sleep varies from person to person, and some people need more or less than the suggested amount for their age (Sleep Foundation). The main reasons are:

Your Genes

In a Japanese lab study, healthy adults were given extended time to sleep over several days in a row. The amount they settled at, which the researchers called optimal sleep duration, varied between individuals (Kitamura et al., Scientific Reports 2016). A very small group of people, natural short sleepers, function well on 6 hours or less without daytime sleepiness. This is a rare genetic trait (Sleep Foundation), and it cannot be learned; our guide on whether you can train your body to need less sleep explains why.

Illness, Recovery And Pregnancy

Extra sleep may be helpful when you are sick or recovering from sleep deprivation (NHLBI). The Sleep Foundation lists health issues, medicines that affect energy, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and a physically demanding job or frequent sport as reasons to think about whether you need more rest than the standard figure (Sleep Foundation).

Age

Children need more sleep than adults to support growth and development (Sleep Foundation). With age, sleep tends to become shorter and lighter, with more night wakings, and older adults are more likely to take medicines or have conditions that affect sleep (NIA). That does not mean they need less: it means good sleep can be harder to get.

Your Daily Life

Daily demands do not change how much sleep your body needs, but they change how much a shortfall costs you. If you drive every day, operate machinery or do other work where alertness keeps you safe, being short of sleep matters more (Sleep Foundation).

Quality Matters As Much As Quantity

Hours in bed are only part of the picture. The NHLBI uses the term sleep deficiency for not getting enough sleep, sleeping at the wrong time of day, not sleeping well or not getting all the types of sleep your body needs, or having a sleep disorder that disrupts sleep (NHLBI). Restless or broken sleep is less refreshing than continuous sleep, and research increasingly finds that poor-quality sleep can be as harmful as too little (Sleep Foundation).

Two practical points follow. First, time in bed is not time asleep: if you spend 8 hours in bed but lie awake for 1 of them, you slept 7. Our sleep duration calculator works out how long you actually slept. Second, a full night that still leaves you tired is a signal, not bad luck. Sleep apnea, for example, can leave you tired or unrefreshed after a full night because your body wakes many times without you noticing (AASM Sleep Education). If that sounds familiar, read why you wake up tired after 8 hours.

To see how the stages and cycles of a night fit together, start with our overview of how sleep works.

Can You Get Too Much Sleep?

Sleeping more than 9 hours a night is usually described as long sleeping or oversleeping (Sleep Foundation). It is not always a problem. Catching up after a run of short nights, or sleeping more while you fight off an illness, are normal and temporary reasons (Sleep Foundation), and the NHLBI says more than 9 hours is not necessarily harmful and may help young adults (NHLBI).

It is worth checking when long sleep is the norm and you still feel tired. The NHLBI advises talking to your doctor if you sleep more than 8 hours a night but do not feel well rested, as you may have a sleep disorder or other health problem (NHLBI). Conditions linked with regular oversleeping include sleep apnea, narcolepsy, idiopathic hypersomnia and depression (Sleep Foundation).

How To Find Out How Much Sleep You Need

No blood test or app can tell you your exact number. What you can do is give your body enough opportunity to sleep and watch what it does. Sleep researchers use the same idea in the lab: when people are allowed to sleep as long as they like for several days, their sleep settles toward a stable amount, and the jump in sleep on the first long night is a simple sign of how much sleep they were missing (Kitamura et al. 2016). The Sleep Foundation suggests a related question: when you have an open schedule, do you tend to sleep more (Sleep Foundation)?

A practical version is sometimes called the vacation test. It is a self-experiment, not a validated medical test:

1. Pick a stretch of about two weeks with few fixed morning commitments, such as a holiday.
2. Go to bed at the same time each night when you feel sleepy, and switch off the alarm.
3. Keep a simple sleep diary: the time you went to bed, roughly when you fell asleep, and when you woke naturally.
4. Expect the first few nights to run long. If you have been short of sleep, you will probably sleep extra at first. Ignore those nights.
5. Average the last week. The amount you settle at, while waking refreshed and staying alert all day, is a reasonable estimate of your need.

Then check it against daily life. Ask yourself whether you are productive, healthy and happy on that amount, whether you depend on caffeine to get through the day and whether you doze off when you do not mean to (Sleep Foundation). If your estimate is well under 7 hours, treat it with caution: people who cut their sleep often stop feeling sleepier after the first few days while their performance keeps getting worse (Van Dongen et al., Sleep 2003).

Once you have a number, plan backwards from your wake time. A sleep calculator can suggest bedtimes that fit whole sleep cycles into the hours you need.

Signs You Are Not Getting Enough Sleep

You may be short of sleep, or not sleeping well, if you notice:

• You do not feel refreshed when you wake up, or you feel very tired during the day (NHLBI).
• You need an alarm on most days and would sleep longer if you could, such as on days off or holidays (Sleep Foundation). The NHLBI notes that sleeping more on days off than on workdays might be a sign that you are not getting enough sleep (NHLBI).
• Trouble focusing, remembering, making decisions or managing your emotions, slower reactions and more mistakes (NHLBI).
• Irritability, anxiety or mood swings, more yawning, headaches and a bigger appetite (Sleep Foundation).
• Relying on caffeine to stay alert through the day (Sleep Foundation).
• Microsleeps: brief moments of sleep you cannot control, such as not remembering part of a drive (NHLBI).

Shortfalls add up. If you lose 2 hours a night, you build a sleep debt of 14 hours in a week (NHLBI), and losing even 1 to 2 hours a night for several nights can leave you functioning as if you had not slept for a day or two (NHLBI). Our guide to what sleep debt is explains how it builds and how to repay it, the sleep debt calculator puts a number on your own shortfall, and our overview of sleep deprivation covers the effects in more depth.

How To Get The Sleep You Need

Knowing your number is only useful if you protect it. The AASM recommends these habits (AASM Sleep Education):

• Keep a consistent schedule: get up at the same time every day, weekends and holidays included.
• Set a bedtime early enough for at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep.
• Do not go to bed unless you are sleepy, and if you are not asleep after 20 minutes, get up and do something quiet.
• Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed, and keep the bedroom quiet and relaxing.
• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening, and avoid alcohol before bed.

If you have the opportunity to sleep but still struggle to fall or stay asleep, the problem may be insomnia rather than a lack of time, and it needs a different plan.

How Much Sleep Do You Need FAQs

Is 7 Hours Of Sleep Enough?

For most adults 7 hours is the minimum for good health. Some people need more, so if you are tired on 7 hours, try more.

Is 6 Hours Of Sleep Enough?

For almost everyone, no. Only rare natural short sleepers do well on 6 hours or less, and it is a genetic trait.

Do Women Need More Sleep Than Men?

The official age ranges are the same for both sexes. Pregnancy, illness and other health factors can raise individual need.

Do Older Adults Need Less Sleep?

No. Older adults need about 7 to 9 hours, like younger adults, but their sleep tends to be lighter and earlier.

Is Sleeping 10 Hours Bad?

Not if you are ill or catching up. If you regularly need 10 hours and still feel tired, talk to a doctor.

Do Naps Count Toward Total Sleep?

For young children the recommended hours include naps. Adults can count a nap as sleep, but it does not replace a full night.

This article is general education, not medical advice. If you are worried about how much you or your child sleeps, or about daytime sleepiness, talk to a doctor.