How many hours of sleep do you need by age? The official table

The short answer for most adults is 7 or more hours a night. Children and teens need more, and the range shifts again after 60.

The numbers below are the ones CDC publishes on its "About Sleep" page. CDC did not invent them. It compiles three consensus statements from sleep experts, and each row points back to one of them.

The table

Age group	Age	Recommended per 24 hours	Source behind the row
Newborn	0–3 months	14–17 hours	National Sleep Foundation
Infant	4–12 months	12–16 hours (including naps)	American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Toddler	1–2 years	11–14 hours (including naps)	American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Preschool	3–5 years	10–13 hours (including naps)	American Academy of Sleep Medicine
School age	6–12 years	9–12 hours	American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Teen	13–17 years	8–10 hours	American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Adult	18–60 years	7 or more hours	AASM and Sleep Research Society
Adult	61–64 years	7–9 hours	National Sleep Foundation
Adult	65 years and older	7–8 hours	National Sleep Foundation

The three papers CDC cites are:

• Hirshkowitz and colleagues, "The National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations," Sleep Health, 2015 (newborns and adults 61+).
• Paruthi and colleagues, "Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations," a consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2016 (infants to teens).
• Watson and colleagues, "Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult," a joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, Sleep, 2015 (adults 18–60).

How to read it

It is a range, not a target. Two healthy people of the same age can sit at different ends of it.

"Per 24 hours" matters for little kids. For infants, toddlers and preschoolers, the hours include naps. A 2-year-old who sleeps 10 hours at night and naps for 2 hours is at 12 hours, inside the 11–14 range.

"7 or more" has no ceiling. For adults 18 to 60, the table only gives a floor. From 61 on, it gives a closed range.

Ages touch at the edges. The source writes infants as 4–12 months and toddlers as 1–2 years. Our sleep-by-age tool puts a child who has just turned 1 in the toddler row.

From hours to a bedtime

A range of hours is easier to act on as a clock time. The sum is simple:

1. Start from the wake-up time.
2. Subtract the hours in the range.
3. Subtract the time it takes to fall asleep. We use 15 minutes, the middle of the 10-to-20-minute range the Sleep Foundation calls normal for adults.

Here is what that gives for a few households. Every time below comes from the same function the tool uses.

Who	Alarm	Range	In bed by (upper end)	In bed by (lower end)
Teen, 16	6:30 AM (06:30)	8–10 h	8:15 PM (20:15)	10:15 PM (22:15)
Child, 8	7:00 AM (07:00)	9–12 h	6:45 PM (18:45)	9:45 PM (21:45)
Adult, 35	6:30 AM (06:30)	7+ h	n/a	11:15 PM (23:15)
Adult, 70	6:00 AM (06:00)	7–8 h	9:45 PM (21:45)	10:45 PM (22:45)

Read the teen row this way: to get the bottom of the range, 8 hours, before a 6:30 AM alarm, the teen needs to be in bed by 10:15 PM. To reach the top, 10 hours, it would take an 8:15 PM bedtime.

For the 35-year-old the table only sets a floor, so there is just one column: in bed by 11:15 PM for 7 hours of sleep.

A worked example in cycles

Some people prefer to plan in sleep cycles of about 90 minutes. Five cycles is 7 hours 30 minutes, which clears the adult floor of 7 hours. With a 6:30 AM alarm and 15 minutes to fall asleep, that is a 10:45 PM bedtime:

Four cycles would be only 6 hours, below the adult range. That is why the sleep calculator flags the four-cycle option. The 90-minute cycle guide explains why cycle math is an estimate, not a rule.

Habits CDC lists

The same CDC page lists habits that support good sleep:

• Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day.
• Keeping the bedroom quiet, relaxing and at a cool temperature.
• Turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Avoiding large meals and alcohol before bedtime.
• Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening.
• Exercising regularly and keeping a healthy diet.

When the numbers are not the problem

Hitting the hours on paper does not settle everything. CDC lists trouble falling asleep, repeatedly waking up during the night and feeling sleepy or tired even after enough sleep as signs of poor sleep quality. It says to talk to a healthcare provider if you regularly have problems sleeping. NINDS says the same in fewer words: see a doctor if you have problems sleeping or if you feel unusually tired during the day.

For a child, ask the pediatrician. The ranges above are population guidance, not a check-up.