How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?

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I went to private school for most of my academic life, and in elementary school our grading system was pretty strict compared to our public school friends. To get an “A” for example, you had to get a 94% instead of the usual 90% cutoff at most other places. It’s funny how certain numbers drill their way into your head, and today as I look at my sleep stats and see the 94% score for one of my nights — I get a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that what I share on my health blog regarding sleep actually does work.

Before we get into all of these valuable life hacks though, how much sleep do you actually need? That’s our topic today, and it’s a big one in an ever-stressful world. Also, is all sleep created equal or are there more significant types of sleep than others? This is another important question, and we will answer both of them in this article.

For a guide where I discuss over 20 sleep resources for better sleep, go here.

So, how much?

The first question, how much sleep we need, has a medical answer and personal answer. If you’re a baby, the amount of sleep you need is over 14 hours,⁽¹⁾ but if you’re 70 years or older then you may need just 6 or 7.⁽²⁾ Too much or too little sleep (less than 6 hours and greater than 9 hours) is a red flag and significantly correlated with all-cause mortality,^(3-10) and the effects of consistent “sleep debt” (meaning, the difference between what you need and what you’re actually getting every night) are well documented:^(11,12) increases in stress hormones, dysregulation of the endocrine system, poor sugar metabolism, brain and cardiac issues and a whole host of metabolic problems are related to accumulated sleep debt and poor-quality sleep over the course of your life.