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How much sleep do you need? Hours by age, from two expert panels

Nine age groups, two independent consensus panels, one chart. Adults 18–64 are recommended 7–9 hours; teenagers 8–10; school-age children 9–11. Pick your group for the full bands and what "too little" means at that age.

Updated October 3, 2026 · NSF 2015 · AASM 2015/2016 · CDC

Recommended hours of sleep per 24 h, by age
4h6h8h10h12h14h16h18h20hNewborn14–17 hInfant12–15 hToddler11–14 hPreschooler10–13 hSchool-age child9–11 hTeenager8–10 hYoung adult7–9 hAdult7–9 hOlder adult7–8 h

Dark bars: recommended · light bars: may be appropriate for some · NSF panel (Hirshkowitz 2015) · as of October 3, 2026

By age group

14–17 hNewborn · 0-3 months12–15 hInfant · 4-11 months11–14 hToddler · 1-2 years10–13 hPreschooler · 3-5 years9–11 hSchool-age child · 6-13 years8–10 hTeenager · 14-17 years7–9 hYoung adult · 18-25 years7–9 hAdult · 26-64 years7–8 hOlder adult · 65 years and over

Is a set number of hours enough?

Is4 hoursenough? not recommended for adultsIs5 hoursenough? not recommended for adultsIs6 hoursenough? may be enough for some adultsIs7 hoursenough? inside the adult rangeIs8 hoursenough? inside the adult rangeIs9 hoursenough? inside the adult rangeIs10 hoursenough? may be enough for some adults

Why two panels

The National Sleep Foundation panel (2015) and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2016 for children, 2015 with the Sleep Research Society for adults) reviewed the same literature with different methods and published nearly the same ranges. Where they differ, both figures are shown. All numbers are per 24 hours and include naps for children under five.

Sources

  1. National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary — Sleep Health 1(1):40-43, 2015 (Hirshkowitz M. et al.)
  2. Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine — J Clin Sleep Med 12(6):785-786, 2016 (Paruthi S. et al.)
  3. Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult (AASM and Sleep Research Society consensus) — Sleep 38(6):843-844, 2015 (Watson N.F. et al.)
  4. How Much Sleep Do I Need? — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

General information from population studies (NIH, CDC, NSF, AASM). It is not medical advice and does not replace a clinician who knows you.