Sleep is one of the many benchmarks throughout the lifespan that we measure ourselves, and loved ones, against. “How much sleep do we really need?” is a natural and relevant question, especially for parents of children and teens, and those who care for aging parents. As the public’s trusted source for sleep health information, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) makes recommendations to provide the public with normal sleep time ranges that are conducive for health and wellbeing.

The official NSF sleep recommendations reflect current scientific knowledge and expert opinion. NSF has committed to regularly reviewing our recommendations using the most up-to-date scientific information and processes. Therefore, NSF convened experts from sleep, anatomy and physiology, as well as pediatrics, neurology, gerontology and gynecology to reach a consensus from the broadest range of scientific disciplines.

The panel revised the recommended sleep ranges for all six children and teen age groups. The recommendations are the result of multiple rounds of consensus voting after a comprehensive review of published scientific studies on sleep and health. Read the full manuscript and our methodology and results.

Download the infographic of the sleep duration recommendations.

Sleep Duration Recommendation Endorsement Organizations

• American Association of Anatomists

• American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

• American Geriatrics Society

• American Physiological Society

• American Thoracic Society

• Armenian Sleep Disorders Association 

• Australasian Sleep Association

• Belgian Association for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine

• Bulgarian Sleep Society

• California Sleep Society

• European Sleep Research Society

• Finnish Sleep Research Society

• Georgia Association of Sleep Professionals

• Gerontological Society of America

• Human Anatomy and Physiology Society

• Icelandic Sleep Research Society

• Illinois Sleep Society 

• Indian Society for Sleep Research

• International Restless Leg Syndrome Study Group

• Italian Association of Sleep Medicine 

• Korean Academy of Sleep Medicine

• Lithuanian Sleep Society

• Montana Sleep Society

• North Carolina Academy of Sleep Medicine

• Serbian Sleep Society

• Sleep Health Foundation 

• Sleep Professionals of Arkansas

• Slovenian Sleep Society

• Society for Research in Human Development

• Taiwan Society of Sleep Medicine

• Virginia Academy of Sleep Medicine