How Much Sleep Do I Need? Hours by Age and Signs You Need More

Most adults need 7 or more hours of sleep a night, and 7 to 9 hours is the range most experts give for adults up to their early 60s. Adults 65 and older need about 7 to 8 hours, teens 8 to 10, and school-age children 9 to 12. (CDC) That is the short answer to "how much sleep do I need?" The longer answer is that your own number sits somewhere in that range, and the best guide is how you feel and function during the day. This guide covers sleep hours by age, how to find your number, the signs you need more and why a regular schedule matters as much as the total.

It is educational, not medical advice.

Key Takeaways

• Adults: 7 or more hours: the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults sleep 7 or more hours a night on a regular basis (Watson et al., 2015).
• Needs change with age: the CDC lists 7 or more hours for adults 18 to 60, 7 to 9 hours for ages 61 to 64 and 7 to 8 hours from 65 (CDC).
• Feeling fine is not proof: in a lab study, 2 weeks of 6 hours a night caused steadily worse cognitive test scores, yet people rated themselves only slightly sleepier (Van Dongen et al., 2003).
• About 1 in 3 adults fall short: in a CDC survey of 444,306 adults, 65.2% reported sleeping 7 or more hours, so about a third did not (Liu et al., 2016).
• Regular timing matters too: in 60,977 adults tracked with wrist monitors, a regular sleep schedule predicted risk of death more strongly than sleep length did (Windred et al., 2024).

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How Much Sleep Do You Need by Age?

These are the CDC's recommended daily hours of sleep for each age group (CDC). Hours for infants, toddlers and preschoolers include naps.

The National Sleep Foundation's expert panel reached similar ranges: 7 to 9 hours for young adults and adults and 7 to 8 hours for older adults. The panel also noted that sleep needs vary from person to person, and that sleeping far outside the normal range is rare (Hirshkowitz et al., 2015). NINDS, part of the National Institutes of Health, puts it simply: most adults need 7 to 9 hours a night, even older people (NINDS).

How Many Hours of Sleep Do Adults Need?

For adults, the clearest guidance comes from a joint statement by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. A panel of sleep experts reviewed the research and agreed that adults should sleep 7 or more hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health (Watson et al., 2015). Regularly sleeping less than 7 hours was linked with worse health, poorer performance, more errors and a greater risk of accidents.

Sleeping more than 9 hours a night on a regular basis may be appropriate for young adults, people recovering from sleep debt and people who are ill. For everyone else, the panel said it is uncertain whether sleeping more than 9 hours carries any health risk (Watson et al., 2015).

Is 8 Hours of Sleep Enough? Is 6?

For most adults, 8 hours sits comfortably inside the recommended 7 to 9. Whether it is enough for you depends on how you feel and function during the day, and on how well you sleep in those hours. Time in bed is not the same as time asleep, so 8 hours in bed can mean less than 8 hours of sleep.

Six hours is a different story. In a well-known lab study, 48 healthy adults aged 21 to 38 were assigned 4, 6 or 8 hours in bed for 14 nights in a row. The 4 and 6 hour groups built up steady, dose-dependent drops on every cognitive test. By the end, 6 hours or less a night produced deficits equal to up to 2 nights of no sleep at all (Van Dongen et al., 2003). The striking part: people's own sleepiness ratings rose at first but only a little after that, so they were largely unaware of how impaired they were.

So if you feel fine on 6 hours, that feeling may not be the whole picture. Some people do naturally need less sleep: researchers have identified a gene variant linked to a naturally short sleep pattern in humans (He et al., 2009). But most people who sleep 6 hours are simply short on sleep. Our guide to sleep debt explains what happens when you fall short night after night and how to catch up.

How to Find Out How Much Sleep You Need

Your personal number is the amount that lets you wake up without a struggle and stay alert through the day. A simple way to find it:

1. Pick a fixed wake time you can keep every day, weekends included (CDC).
2. Count back 8 hours and make that your bedtime for 1 to 2 weeks.
3. Notice how you feel. If you wake before the alarm feeling rested and stay alert all day, you are close to your number.
4. Adjust by 15 minutes at a time. If you still need the alarm and feel heavy in the afternoon, go to bed 15 minutes earlier for a week. If you lie awake for a long time, try 15 minutes later.

Sleep runs in cycles. You move through non-REM and REM sleep several times a night, with the first REM period about 90 minutes after you fall asleep and longer REM periods toward morning (NINDS). Cutting your night short trims the later, REM-rich part of it. Our guides to the stages of sleep and how much deep sleep you need go deeper.

Signs You Are Not Getting Enough Sleep

• Trouble focusing, learning or reacting during the day (NHLBI).
• Feeling cranky, frustrated or worried more easily (NHLBI).
• Dozing off without meaning to. Nearly 40% of adults report falling asleep during the day without meaning to at least once a month (NHLBI).
• Needing the alarm every day and sleeping much longer on days off, which can mean your weeknights are too short.
• Leaning on caffeine to get through the afternoon. If tiredness is your normal, our guide why am I so tired all the time walks through the common causes.

Why a Regular Schedule Matters as Much as the Hours

Healthy sleep is more than a number. The AASM and SRS panel defines it as adequate duration, good quality, appropriate timing and regularity (Watson et al., 2015). Regularity may matter more than most people think. A UK Biobank study measured sleep with wrist monitors in 60,977 adults and followed them for about 6 years. Compared with the least regular sleepers, people in the more regular groups had a 20 to 48% lower risk of dying from any cause during follow up, and sleep regularity predicted that risk more strongly than sleep duration did (Windred et al., 2024).

The practical lesson is to protect both your hours and your clock: the same bedtime and wake time every day is the first habit the CDC lists (CDC). If your schedule has drifted, our guide to how to fix your sleep schedule has a step by step reset.

How to Get the Sleep You Need

• Set a bedtime that fits your number, counting back from a fixed wake time (CDC).
• Keep the bedroom quiet, relaxing and cool (CDC).
• Turn off screens at least 30 minutes before bed (CDC).
• Skip large meals and alcohol before bed, and caffeine in the afternoon or evening (CDC).
• Exercise regularly (CDC).

Our night routine guide turns these into a sample bedtime schedule, how to sleep better covers 11 habits for better sleep through the night, and how to fall asleep fast has tips for nights when sleep will not come.

Where Our Products Fit

No product replaces enough hours in bed, but some people add one to a consistent bedtime. Our Melatonin Nasal Spray provides 200 mcg of melatonin with 17 mg of L-theanine per two-spray serving, used 15 to 30 minutes before bedtime. Theanine Nasal Spray provides 36 mg of L-theanine per two-spray serving and is caffeine-free. The Sleep Stack pairs Melatonin Nasal Spray with Theanine Nasal Spray and Lithium Orotate in one bedtime routine. Our melatonin ingredient page and sleep health hub have more. Talk to your doctor before starting a new product if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or take medication.

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When to Talk to a Doctor

See your doctor if you regularly feel sleepy during the day even after 7 or more hours in bed, snore loudly, wake up gasping, often lie awake for a long time, or regularly need more than 9 or 10 hours to feel rested. The AASM and SRS panel advises anyone concerned they are sleeping too little or too much to talk to their healthcare provider (Watson et al., 2015).

Frequently Asked Questions

How much sleep do I need?

Most adults need 7 or more hours a night. The CDC lists 7 or more hours for ages 18 to 60, 7 to 9 for ages 61 to 64 and 7 to 8 from 65 (CDC). Your own number is the amount that leaves you alert all day.

How many hours of sleep do I need by age?

Newborns 14 to 17 hours, infants 12 to 16, toddlers 11 to 14, preschoolers 10 to 13, school-age children 9 to 12, teens 8 to 10 and adults 7 or more (CDC).

Is 6 hours of sleep enough?

For most adults, no. Two weeks of 6 hours a night caused steadily worse cognitive test scores in a lab study, while people rated themselves only slightly sleepier (Van Dongen et al., 2003).

Is 7 hours of sleep enough?

Seven hours meets the AASM and SRS recommendation of 7 or more hours for adults (Watson et al., 2015). If you still feel tired on 7, try adding 15 minutes a night for a week.

Is 9 hours of sleep too much?

More than 9 hours may be appropriate for young adults, people recovering from sleep debt and people who are ill; for others, it is uncertain whether it carries any risk (Watson et al., 2015). If you regularly need much more than 9 hours to feel rested, talk to your doctor.

Do older adults need less sleep?

Only a little. The CDC recommends 7 to 8 hours from age 65 (CDC), and NINDS notes that most adults need 7 to 9 hours, even older people (NINDS).

Can I catch up on sleep on the weekend?

Extra sleep helps you recover from a short night, and sleeping more than 9 hours may be appropriate when recovering from sleep debt (Watson et al., 2015). But a regular schedule matters too (Windred et al., 2024), so aim for enough sleep every night rather than long lie-ins. Our sleep debt guide explains how.

Why am I still tired after 8 hours of sleep?

Eight hours in bed is not always 8 hours of sleep, and a broken night or an irregular schedule can leave you tired. Read why am I so tired all the time for the common causes, and see your doctor if it lasts.

Sources

1. Watson NF, Badr MS, Belenky G, 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. J Clin Sleep Med. 2015. PubMed 25979105
2. Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, et al. National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015. PubMed 29073412
3. Van Dongen HP, Maislin G, Mullington JM, Dinges DF. The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. Sleep. 2003. PubMed 12683469
4. Liu Y, Wheaton AG, Chapman DP, Cunningham TJ, Lu H, Croft JB. Prevalence of Healthy Sleep Duration among Adults, United States, 2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016. PubMed 26890214
5. Windred DP, Burns AC, Lane JM, et al. Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study. Sleep. 2024. PubMed 37738616
6. He Y, Jones CR, Fujiki N, et al. The transcriptional repressor DEC2 regulates sleep length in mammals. Science. 2009. PubMed 19679812
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Sleep (last reviewed November 20, 2023). CDC
8. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep. NINDS
9. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? NHLBI

Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This article is for education only and is not medical advice.