DozeClock › Sleep needs › Older adult

How much sleep does a older adult need? (65 years and over)

Updated October 3, 2026 · Sources: National Sleep Foundation panel 2015 · AASM 2016/2015 · CDC

Short answer

7–8 h

per 24 hours is recommended for older adults aged 65 years and over. AASM: 7 or more hours.

May be appropriate for some5–6 · 9 hNSF panel's wider band
Not recommended< 5 · > 9hours per 24 h

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

Recommended hours by age — older adult highlighted
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 · NSF panel (Hirshkowitz 2015) · as of October 3, 2026

Where the numbers come from

In 2015 a panel assembled by the National Sleep Foundation graded the evidence for every age group and published three bands rather than a single number. For older adults aged 65 years and over the recommended range is 7–8 hours in 24 hours. Outside that, 5–6 or 9 hours "may be appropriate" for some individuals, and under 5 or over 9 hours is not recommended.

For adults the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society published a joint consensus in 2015: seven or more hours per night on a regular basis, with no upper limit set because the evidence for harm above nine hours is weaker and confounded by illness.

The recommended band for older adults spans 1 hour, which is a narrow band, reflecting more consistent evidence. Compared with adults (7–9 h), the older adult range is 0 hours lower at the bottom and 1 at the top.

Both panels side by side

Age groupAgeNSF recommendedNSF may be appropriateAASM
Newborn0-3 months14–17 h11–13, 18–19 h—
Infant4-11 months12–15 h10–11, 16–18 h12–16 h
Toddler1-2 years11–14 h9–10, 15–16 h11–14 h
Preschooler3-5 years10–13 h8–9, 14 h10–13 h
School-age child6-13 years9–11 h7–8, 12 h9–12 h
Teenager14-17 years8–10 h7, 11 h8–10 h
Young adult18-25 years7–9 h6, 10–11 h7+ h
Adult26-64 years7–9 h6, 10 h7+ h
Older adult65 years and over7–8 h5–6, 9 h7+ h

Sources: Hirshkowitz et al. 2015 (Sleep Health); Paruthi et al. 2016 (JCSM); Watson et al. 2015 (Sleep) · as of October 3, 2026

What too little looks like for older adults

Regularly sleeping under 7 hours is what the AASM calls short sleep. The outcomes the panels weighed include daytime sleepiness, errors and accidents, weight gain, and over years, cardiovascular and metabolic risk. One short night is a different matter from a pattern; the consensus statements are explicit that the figure is for "a regular basis".

A bed near a window in soft daylight
Photo by Christopher Farrugia on Unsplash

Related pages

Adult (26-64 years)7–9 h Turn 7–8 hours into a bedtimeby wake-up time How many cycles is 7–8 hours?5–5 cycles

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.