How many hours of sleep are enough for good health?
Answer From Eric J. Olson, M.D.
The amount of sleep you need depends on various factors — especially your age. While sleep needs vary significantly among individuals, consider these general guidelines for different age groups:
| Age group | Recommended amount of sleep |
| Infants 4 months to 12 months | 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours, including naps |
| 1 to 2 years | 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours, including naps |
| 3 to 5 years | 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours, including naps |
| 6 to 12 years | 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours |
| 13 to 18 years | 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours |
| Adults | 7 or more hours a night |
In addition to age, other factors can affect how many hours of sleep you need. For example:
- Sleep quality. If your sleep is frequently interrupted, you're not getting quality sleep. The quality of your sleep is just as important as the quantity.
- Previous sleep deprivation. If you're sleep deprived, the amount of sleep you need increases.
- Pregnancy. Changes in hormone levels and physical discomfort can result in poor sleep quality.
- Aging. Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as younger adults. As you get older, however, your sleeping patterns might change. Older adults tend to sleep more lightly, take longer to start sleeping and sleep for shorter time spans than do younger adults. Older adults also tend to wake up multiple times during the night.
For kids, getting the recommended amount of sleep on a regular basis is linked with better health, including improved attention, behavior, learning, memory, the ability to control emotions, quality of life, and mental and physical health.
For adults, getting less than seven hours of sleep a night on a regular basis has been linked with poor health, including weight gain, having a body mass index of 30 or higher, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and depression.
If you're concerned about the amount of sleep you or your child is getting, talk to your doctor or your child's doctor.
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- Sleep and psoriatic arthritis
Feb. 21, 2023
- Brain basics: Understanding sleep. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep. Accessed March 31, 2021.
- Paruthi S, et al. Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: A consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2016; doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.5866.
- Landon MB, et al., eds. Maternal physiology. In: Gabbe's Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies. 8th ed. Elsevier; 2021. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed March 31, 2021.
- Cirelli C. Insufficient sleep: Definition, epidemiology, and adverse outcomes. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 31, 2021.
- Kryger MH, et al., eds. Normal sleep. In: Atlas of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2nd ed. Saunders Elsevier; 2014. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed March 31, 2021.
- Watson NF, et al. Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. 2015; doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.4758.
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FAQs
Recommended Hours of Sleep
Most teenagers should sleep at least eight hours per day, but some teens will need more sleep to be at their best. For adults, experts generally recommend seven or more hours of sleep.
Do we need 7 or 8 hours of sleep? ›
Recommended Hours of Sleep
Most teenagers should sleep at least eight hours per day, but some teens will need more sleep to be at their best. For adults, experts generally recommend seven or more hours of sleep.
What is the minimum amount of sleep needed to function properly? ›
The bare minimum of sleep needed to live, not just thrive, is 4 hours per 24-hour period. Seven to 9 hours of sleep are needed for health, renewal, learning, and memory. Disruption of the sleep cycle from shift work creates problems for the quality and quantity of sleep.
Is 4.5 hours of deep sleep too much? ›
So if you're freaking out about your sleep tracker telling you you got 4.5 hours of deep sleep last night, don't worry. There's no real way to get too much deep sleep. Your body has its own natural drive, so once you get the optimal amount of deep sleep for you, you'll simply start going into REM and light sleep.
Is 7 hours of sleep enough for a 22 year old? ›
For adults over 18 years old, seven hours of sleep should be enough, but personal sleep needs may vary. Sleep deprivation can lead to heart problems and diabetes, as well as trouble concentrating, mood swings, anxiety, and depression. The quality of sleep you get is just as important as how much you get.
Can I survive on 5 hours of sleep? ›
Other people can function on closer to five, but this amount is not optimal for health, especially if it becomes a habit, according to experts. There are "natural short-sleepers" who can sleep less than six hours a night and function normally without feeling tired or facing adverse health outcomes, Dr.
How much sleep is too little? ›
How many hours of sleep are enough for good health?
| Age group | Recommended amount of sleep |
|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours, including naps |
| 6 to 12 years | 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours |
| 13 to 18 years | 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours |
| Adults | 7 or more hours a night |
2 more rowsThe longest recorded time without sleep is approximately 264 hours, or just over 11 consecutive days. Although it's unclear exactly how long humans can survive without sleep, it isn't long before the effects of sleep deprivation start to show. After only three or four nights without sleep, you can start to hallucinate.
Can you survive on 2 hours of sleep a night? ›
Sadly, this is a myth. According to experts, it is rare for anyone to need fewer than 6 hours' sleep to function. Although some people might claim to feel fine with limited sleep, scientists think it is more likely that they are used to the negative effects of reduced sleep.
Are naps good for you? ›
Napping offers various benefits for healthy adults, including: Relaxation. Reduced fatigue. Increased alertness.
How do sleep stages affect your ability to wake up feeling refreshed? Each sleep stage plays a critical role in ensuring you wake up feeling refreshed. Deep sleep helps with physical restoration and energy replenishment, while REM sleep is important for cognitive functions and emotional balance.
How much sleep does a 100 year old need? ›
Older adults need about the same amount of sleep as all adults—7 to 9 hours each night.
Is it good to sleep declined? ›
Poor sleep can harm intellectual performance, academic achievement, creative pursuits, and productivity at work. The cognitive impacts of poor sleep can also create safety risks, including drowsy driving. Motor skills, keeping rhythm, and even some types of speech can decline without proper sleep.
Why am I still tired after 8 hours of sleep? ›
It might be related to the quality of your sleep, which can be affected by factors like sleep disorders, stress, or your sleep environment. Other health conditions, like anemia or thyroid issues, could be at play. It's advisable to consult with a healthcare professional to get to the root of persistent tiredness.
How much deep sleep do you need by age? ›
If you're under age 30, you may get two hours of deep sleep each night. If you're over age 65, on the other hand, you may only get a half hour of deep sleep each night, or none at all. There's no specific requirement for deep sleep, but younger people may need more because it promotes growth and development.
What's the perfect amount of sleep? ›
Experts recommend that adults sleep between 7 and 9 hours a night. Adults who sleep less than 7 hours a night may have more health issues than those who sleep 7 or more hours a night.
Is it better to sleep 8 hours straight or split it up? ›
There are mixed views on whether segmented sleeping is safe. Since there hasn't been much research on the effect sleeping in shifts can have on your health, it's best to avoid it unless there's a reason you need to sleep that way, says Clete Kushida, MD, PhD, the medical director of the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center.
Are 6 hours of sleep enough? ›
While some people regularly function on short periods of sleep, research mostly agrees that six hours of sleep is not enough for most adults. Experts recommend that most adults need at least seven hours of sleep every night.
Why do humans need 7 hours of sleep? ›
It can help prevent disease.
Sleep plays a role in healing the heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deprivation has been associated with an increased risk of many diseases including kidney disease, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke.
Is 7 hours enough to build muscle? ›
How much sleep do you need for muscle growth? The average adult needs around 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Regularly having this much sleep is especially important for those looking to increase their muscle mass or change their body composition.
