How much sleep do I need?

The Sleep Time Reminder editorial team wrote and reviewed this guide. Published August 17, 2026. Updated August 17, 2026.

Start with the sleep-needs calculator, then use the bedtime calculator if you want to plan backward from a wake time.

Broad recommendations by age

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention summarizes these daily sleep-duration recommendations for people from infancy through older adulthood:

• Newborns, 0–3 months: 14–17 hours.
• Infants, 4–12 months: 12–16 hours, including naps.
• Toddlers, 1–2 years: 11–14 hours, including naps.
• Preschoolers, 3–5 years: 10–13 hours, including naps.
• School-age children, 6–12 years: 9–12 hours.
• Teens, 13–17 years: 8–10 hours.
• Adults, 18–60 years: 7 or more hours.
• Adults, 61–64 years: 7–9 hours; 65 and older: 7–8 hours.

What these numbers can and cannot tell you

These recommendations describe regular sleep across populations. They do not measure sleep quality, include naps for every age group, or tell you how long you need to sleep tonight. Your sleep need can vary with development, health, schedule, environment, and changes in your life.

Sleep duration and sleep-cycle timing answer different questions. This site's cycle calculator uses 90-minute intervals as a planning model. It does not turn an age-based duration range into an exact bedtime or wake time.

How to use a range responsibly

1. Use the range as a starting point for a consistent schedule.
2. Notice how sleep length, quality, and daytime functioning fit together.
3. Plan a bedtime that leaves room for your own time to fall asleep.
4. Ask a qualified health professional about persistent or concerning problems.

Sources and review notes

The Sleep Time Reminder editorial team wrote and reviewed this guide on August 17, 2026. We checked the health information against these reference pages:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About Sleep,”published May 15, 2024.
• American Academy of Sleep Medicine, “Adult Sleep Duration Health Advisory,”published September 13, 2019.
• American Academy of Sleep Medicine, “Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations,”published June 2016.

Compare a duration range with a planning time in thesleep-needs calculator andsleep cycle calculator.