Adults need 7 or more hours of sleep a night, teenagers 8 to 10, and school-age children 9 to 12. Here are the official recommendations for every age, and what they mean in practice.
| Age group | Age | Recommended sleep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn | 0–3 months | 14–17 hours | |
| Infant | 4–12 months | 12–16 hours, including naps | |
| Toddler | 1–2 years | 11–14 hours, including naps | |
| Preschool | 3–5 years | 10–13 hours, including naps | |
| School age | 6–12 years | 9–12 hours | |
| Teen | 13–18 years | 8–10 hours | |
| Adult | 18–60 years | 7 or more hours | |
| Adult | 61–64 years | 7–9 hours | |
| Older adult | 65 years and older | 7–8 hours |
Bars show the recommended range on a scale of 0 to 18 hours. Sources: AASM (ages 4 months to 18 years, and adults 18 to 60), National Sleep Foundation (newborns and adults over 60), as published by the CDC.
The recommendations come from expert panels that reviewed hundreds of studies on sleep and health. For children and teenagers, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) published its consensus in 2016. For adults aged 18 to 60, the AASM and the Sleep Research Society published theirs in 2015. For newborns and older adults, the CDC uses the National Sleep Foundation’s ranges.
The figures are for sleep in 24 hours, including naps. They are ranges because people differ: some healthy adults feel fine on 7 hours, others need 9.
Here is the latest bedtime for each age group for a 7 AM wake-up, allowing 15 minutes to fall asleep:
| Age | Minimum sleep | Latest bedtime for a 7:00 AM wake-up |
|---|---|---|
| 6–12 years | 9 hours | 9:45 PM |
| 13–18 years | 8 hours | 10:45 PM |
| Adults | 7 hours | 11:45 PM |
For a bedtime that also lines up with your sleep cycles, use the sleep calculator.
According to the AASM and Sleep Research Society, regularly sleeping less than 7 hours a night is linked to weight gain and obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, depression, a weaker immune system, more pain, poorer performance and more errors, and a greater risk of accidents. The CDC estimates that about a third of US adults don’t get enough sleep.
Want to know how much you have missed this week? Try the sleep debt calculator.
For general information only, not medical advice. If you often feel tired despite enough sleep, snore loudly, or have trouble sleeping most nights, talk to a doctor.