How much sleep do you need?

Published by Bupa’s Health Information Team, December 2010.

We all need sleep. But are you getting enough? Whether you’re a new parent wondering how long to let your baby sleep for, concerned about your teenager’s lack of sleep or an older adult wondering why you can’t seem to stop nodding off during the day, this article looks at how our sleep needs change during the course of our lives.

A good night’s sleep

The amount and type of sleep we need changes as we get older. However, how much sleep you need isn’t just about your age. Different people need different amounts: there is no magical number and you may find you need much more or much less than the average. It isn’t always how long you sleep for that matters but the quality of the sleep. Your sleep needs can also change from day to day depending on the challenges you are facing.

The information here is a general guide to how our sleep changes throughout the different stages of our life – but, as long as you’re feeling refreshed and alert the next day, you’re probably getting enough.

Babies

Babies develop at a rapid pace – they need about 17 hours of sleep each day to cope with this and help them to take in all the new things they are learning.

Our internal body clock that ties our sleep in with the daily cycle of day and night isn’t fully developed when we’re first born. Babies develop this during the first six months of life and gradually adjust to sleeping more at night than during the day.

Babies, like adults, alternate between periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is when you dream, and non rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep – when you go into deep sleep (see The science of sleep for more information about the different types of sleep). However, babies spend a much higher proportion of their time in REM sleep than adults and less time in deep sleep, which means they are more easily woken. They also alternate between the different stages much more often, which means they naturally wake more often during the night than adults do. However, they often fall back to sleep on their own within a few minutes.

Toddlers

Toddlers are very active and so need plenty of rest – most one- to two-year-olds need between 10 and 13 hours of sleep a day. Some parents find that it’s better to let their toddler have one long sleep during the night, while others find it works best to let their toddler have a nap during the day and a shorter night-time sleep. If you’re a parent of a toddler it’s important to work out what’s best for you and your child.

Active dreams and nightmares can start to be a particular problem at this age.

Older children

Children are very active, and are learning and developing at a fast rate, so they still need plenty of sleep. Children’s sleep needs can vary – they generally need between eight and 11 hours of sleep per night, gradually requiring less as they get older. As at any age, there is no set amount of time for how long we should sleep, but parents can judge whether their child is getting enough sleep and exactly how much they need.

Teenagers

Teenagers generally need about nine hours sleep each night – however they often don’t get enough. It’s not uncommon for teenagers to want to stay up late at night and then complain about getting up early for school in the morning; however there’s now thought to be some biological reasoning behind it. Your natural sleep pattern changes when you reach your teenage years. A hormone called melatonin, which is thought to promote sleepiness, is produced later in the evening when you’re a teenager – making you feel sleepy later at night. This is called delayed sleep phase syndrome.

Trying to go to bed at around the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning will help teenagers to get the sleep they need.

Adults

In general, adults need about eight hours sleep. However, some people may be able to function after sleeping for much less time. You can cope with the occasional night of no or reduced sleep – you’ll just feel tired the next day. However, an ongoing lack of sleep (insomnia) may affect you both physically and mentally. This may impact on your ability to work productively or to do certain activities – such as driving – safely. See your GP if you have problems sleeping that impact on how you function during the day, as there may be a treatable cause for this. Your GP may seek further specialist advice from a sleep physician.

Older adults

The need for sleep doesn’t seem to decrease as you age – eight hours continues to be the optimum for most people. However, you generally have less deep sleep when you get older. As you sleep more lightly, you may be more easily woken after the first three to four hours of sleep – and may find it harder to get back to sleep after waking. Other health issues, such as needing to go to the toilet more often due to prostate problems, pain from osteoarthritis, and anxiety and depression may also impact on the amount and quality of sleep you get.

If you don’t get enough sleep at night, you may find yourself falling asleep more during the day. You may also find that you fall asleep earlier in the day and wake earlier in the morning.

Getting over changes to your sleep patterns (eg adjusting after jet lag), can also take longer when you’re older.

For sources and links to further information, see Resources.