How much sleep do adults really need?
Sleep experts recommend at least seven hours a night for most adults. Here is what the guidance says and how to get closer to it.
Photo: rachel CALAMUSA at the Wayback Machine / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
In 2015, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society published a consensus recommendation: adults aged 18 to 60 should regularly sleep seven or more hours a night. Public health agencies such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention give the same advice. Teenagers need more, about eight to ten hours.
Why the number matters
Regularly sleeping less than seven hours is linked in research with weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and a higher risk of accidents. Short sleep also makes it harder to concentrate and remember things the next day.
Quality counts too. Waking up many times, loud snoring or gasping, or feeling exhausted after a full night can be signs of a sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea, which a doctor can assess.
Habits that help
- Go to bed and get up at about the same time every day, including weekends.
- Get daylight in the morning and keep screens and bright lights low in the last hour before bed.
- Keep the bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
- Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and large meals or alcohol close to bedtime.
- If you cannot fall asleep after about 20 minutes, get up and do something calm until you feel sleepy.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk to a health professional if poor sleep affects your daily life.