How Much Sleep Do You Need?
Based on National Sleep Foundation guidelines · Updated for 2026
A newborn and a retiree don't need the same sleep. Enter your age and see your science-backed sleep range highlighted on the full chart — newborns to older adults.
Your age
Ranges come from the National Sleep Foundation's expert panel review of 300+ studies — the standard reference used by sleep physicians.
Your sleep need
Sleep needs by age
Guidelines, not prescriptions: if you consistently need the top of your range to feel rested, that's your real number.
How to use this chart
- Pick years or months — months matter for babies under 2.
- Set your age. Your row lights up on the chart.
- Aim for somewhere inside your range most nights — the middle is a fine target.
- If you're always at the top of the range and still tired, talk to your doctor: that can signal a sleep disorder.
Where these numbers come from
In 2015 a National Sleep Foundation panel of sleep scientists reviewed more than 300 studies and published age-by-age recommendations — still the most-cited guideline in sleep medicine. The chart above draws those exact ranges: each bar starts at the minimum and ends at the maximum recommended hours.
The pattern: sleep need is highest at birth (14–17h), falls steeply through childhood, plateaus at 7–9h for most of adult life, then narrows slightly to 7–8h after 65. Teenagers' 8–10h reflects real biology — their circadian clocks run later, not laziness.
Frequently asked questions
Adults 18–64 need 7–9 hours, teenagers 8–10, school-age children 9–11, preschoolers 10–13, toddlers 11–14, infants 12–15, newborns 14–17, and adults 65+ need 7–8 hours, per National Sleep Foundation guidelines.
The most-cited ranges come from a National Sleep Foundation expert panel (2015) that reviewed over 300 studies. Pediatricians and sleep physicians use these ranges as the standard reference.
Somewhat: the recommended range narrows from 7–9 hours for adults 26–64 to 7–8 hours for 65+. Older adults often sleep less deeply rather than needing dramatically less sleep.
For the vast majority, no. Studies consistently link habitual 6-hour nights to impaired focus, worse mood and higher health risks. A tiny fraction of people have a gene variant letting them thrive on 6 hours — you probably aren't one of them.
Yes — 8–10 hours. Teen brains are still developing and their circadian rhythm shifts later, which is why early school start times clash so badly with teen biology.
14–17 hours per day for newborns aged 0–3 months, spread across many short stretches since their sleep cycles are only ~50 minutes and they wake to feed.