Sleep Health

Published March 2, 2022

11 min

Is 6 Hours Of Sleep Enough - How Much Sleep Do You Need By Age

Nectar Editorial Team

Table of contents

Average Sleep Needs By AgeNew Sleep TimeTips To Consider When You’re Not Getting Enough SleepIs Six Hours Of Sleep Enough?Frequently Asked Questions

People struggle to get a good night’s sleep in the hopes that they will be able to meet the standard eight hours of sleep a night. An updated women’s study, derived from a University of California, San Diego 14 years earlier, seems to be suggesting otherwise. The updated paper published suggested that eight hours is probably too much sleep and five hours is not enough. The research found that a much better approach to living a longer life may depend on 6.5 to 7.5 hours of sleep, in women, at least. This is only one study , but it certainly raises an interesting debate

Average Sleep Needs By Age

Age	Hours Needed	May be appropriate
Newborn to 3 months old	14 – 17 hours	11 – 19 hours
4 to 11 months old	12 – 15 hours	10 – 18 hours
1 to 2 years old	11 – 14 hours	9 – 16 hours
3 to 5 years old	10 – 13 hours	8 – 14 hours
6 to 13 years old	9 – 11 hours	7 – 12 hours
14 to 17 years old	8 – 10 hours	11 – 17 hours
Young adults (18 to 25 years old)	7 – 9 hours	6 – 11 hours
Adults (26 to 64 years old)	7 – 9 hours	6 – 10 hours
Older adults (65+)	7 – 8 hours	5 – 9 hours

New Sleep Time

The National Sleep Foundation, a leader in the science of sleep, has released a new sleep time schedule which can categorize your sleep as recommended, may be appropriate, and not recommended. The goal of the National Sleep Foundation Sleep Recommendations is to help people create a sleep schedule that falls within a healthy range for their overall health. You can use this chart when exploring with a sleep scientist, potential sleep disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia just to name a few. You can also use a rem cycle calculator to be sure. Here are the new recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation:

Newborns

The recommended time is 14 to 17 hours, which may be appropriate at 11 to 13 hours. Newborns shouldn’t be sleeping less than 11 hours per day.

Infants

The recommended time is 14 to 17 hours, which may be appropriate at 11 to 13 hours. Newborns shouldn’t be sleeping less than 11 hours per day.

Toddlers

Toddlers should get 11 to 14 hours, with 9 to 10 hours deemed appropriate too. It’s not healthy for them to sleep less than 9 hours.

Preschoolers

They should get 10 to 13 hours of sleep or even 8 to 9 hours, but not less than 8 hours of sleep.

School-Aged Children

Children should get 9 to 11 hours at most, but 7 to 8 hours will do in a pinch. See to it that your child does not sleep for less than 7 hours.

Teens

The recommended hours of sleep for teens is 8 to 10 hours but still deemed appropriate at 7 hours per day. They should not be sleeping less than 7 hours.

Young Adults

Young adults can get 7 to 9 hours of sleep as recommended by the National Sleep Foundation — with 6 hours being appropriate. Less than 6 hours is not recommended.

Adults

The recommended number of hours is 7 to 9 hours, with 6 hours or 10 hours of sleep deemed appropriate on either side. It is not a good idea to get 6 hours or less of sleep.

Older Adults

Seven to eight hours of sleep is recommended for older adults with 5 to 6 hours being appropriate for their age. Getting less than 5 hours of sleep, however, is not advised .

Tips To Consider When You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

Our circadian rhythm tells us when it is time to sleep and when it is time for us to wake, but because of our sleep habits, our circadian rhythm gets disrupted, leaving us to deal with the negative effects of poor sleep in the morning.In conjunction with the number of hours of sleep, the quality of sleep is also important to our overall health. Those who lack good sleep are putting themselves at an increased risk of weight gain, cardiovascular disease, as well as sleep disorders, just to name a few. That being said, here are a few tips on how you will be able to correct your sleep patterns so that falling asleep will not be that hard to do.

Follow A Regular Sleep Schedule

You should start with following a sleep routine where you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This may reduce your risk of heart disease from sleep-related issues.

Address Your Stress

Stress can also be a culprit in your lack of sleep at night since it affects the melatonin production in your body. Melatonin is a hormone your body produces near and during sleep. If your stress level is keeping you up until the morning, you will need to take steps to alleviate the tension that you are feeling at work or at home.

Have Yourself Checked

For those who are not getting enough REM sleep every night, or continuous sleep becomes elusive on your part, it would be a good idea to talk to a professional to help you out. Sleep specialists will conduct sleep studies to determine what kind of sleep disorder you might potentially have, and will provide you with sleep medicine or therapies to help you get back to a restful night’s sleep.

Pay Attention To What You Eat

What you eat or drink affect on sleep at night, which is why you should skip having heavy meals so close to bedtime. Having a nightcap isn’t really recommended, as it will make you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages as well.

Have A Relaxing Bedtime Routine

Another trick that will help you sleep better at night is to have a relaxing routine before you go to bed. This can include taking a warm bath, meditating, or having a cup of warm milk.

Is Six Hours Of Sleep Enough?

In this fast-paced life that we live, many people only get 6 hours of sleep because of their busy schedule. We realize that there are not enough hours in the day for us to be able to do all of the work that we have, and that we often compromise our sleeping hours just to get things done. Some do take a nap in between tasks to help restore their low energy levels, but it’s never enough it seems to recoup the insufficient sleep that we get every night.Some people think that they are sleeping well, only to find that they barely got seven hours in bed. You may argue that the number of hours doesn’t really matter because there are some who can function with 6 hours of sleep alone. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don’t realize the impact of having a good night’s sleep, let alone the symptoms that accompany sleep deprivation.For those who wonder, “ is 6 hours of sleep enough ?”, the answer to this is it depends. Although some people do well on 6 hours of sleep, many of them do not feel any better compared to those getting up to 8 hours of rest. They might not even realize how bad they feel. The problem lies in the fact that their body thinks that this already is the new normal for them, but little do they know that the side effects of being deprived of your much-needed sleep are already being felt in the form of mood swings, low energy levels, daytime sleepiness, and weight gain too just to name a few.This article is for informational purposes and should not replace advice from your doctor or other medical professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much sleep is too much? If you regularly need more than 9 hours of sleep to feel rested as an adult, some underlying condition might be the cause. How long can you go without sleep? It is not clear how long a person can go without sleep. In 1965, Randy Gardner set a world record by staying awake for 264 hours! What happens if you don't sleep for 24 hours? According to the CDC , being awake for at least 24 hours is equal to having a blood alcohol content of 0.10%. This is higher than the legal limit (0.08% BAC) in all states. This can lead to drowsiness, irritability, and reduced coordination among other things. Do women need more sleep? Women tend to require more sleep than men. Research shows that women sleep approximately 11 minutes more than men. What time should I go to sleep? According to a study , 10 p.m. is the best time to go to sleep. How many hours should a pregnant woman sleep? Women who are pregnant might need a few more hours of sleep each night. So, 8-10 hours of sleep is recommended.