How much sleep should I get?

    Written by:
    Marina Shkayeva

    Fact-checked

    by:

    Morgan Pfiffner
    Last Updated: May 16, 2025

    The amount of sleep that a person needs can vary and may require some experimentation to determine what works best for the individual. General guidelines from the National Sleep Foundation suggest specific recommended sleep durations based on age, ranging from 14 to 17 hours for infants to 7 to 8 hours for older adults.

    How much sleep you need may take some trial-and-error testing to see what works best. But if you’re looking for some general guidelines, check out the recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation below.[1]

    AGERECOMMENDEDMAY BE APPROPRIATENOT RECOMMENDED
    0–3 months14–1711–19< 11 or > 19
    4–11 months12–1510–18< 10 or > 18
    1–2 years11–149–16< 9 or > 16
    3–5 years10–138–14< 8 or > 14
    6–13 years9–117–12< 7 or > 12
    14–17 years8–107–11< 7 or > 11
    18–25 years7–96–11< 6 or > 11
    26–64 years7–96–10< 6 or > 10
    ≥65 years7–85– 9< 5 or > 9

    Adapted from Hirshkowitz et al. Sleep Health. 2015.[1]