Do you know how much sleep you need? Getting enough sleep is critical to your health in many ways, it can affect your weight and metabolism, and also your brain function and mood. In this article, you will get to know how your sleep cycle works and how to budget enough for sleep by using a sleep time calculator.
How much sleep do you need?
The amount of time you need for sleep will change by your age. An infant may need up to 17 hours of sleep each day, while an adult may just need 7 hours of sleep a night.
Babies, young children, and adolescents need more sleep than adults do. However, the exact amount of sleep depends on people’s overall health. Here is the table listed for the recommended daily sleep by different age range:
| AGE RANGE | DAILY SLEEP (HOURS) | |
| NEWBORN | < 3 months | 14-17 |
| INFANT | 4-11 months | 12-15 |
| TODDLER | 1-2 years | 11-14 |
| PRESCHOOL | 3-5 years | 10-13 |
| SCHOOL AGE | 6-13 years | 9-11 |
| TEENAGER | 14-17 years | 8-10 |
| SENIOR | 18-64 years | 7-9 |
| THE OLD | >65 years | 7-8 |
What is the best time to sleep and wake up?
Everyone’s needs for sleep are different even within the same age group. Some may need 9 hours of sleep to get well rested while others may only need 7 hours.
On average, you may need 10-20 minutes to fall asleep, and it takes about 90 minutes to go through each sleep cycle. Five cycles are about 7.5 hours of sleep a night, while six full cycles are about 9 hours of sleep. Ideally, you usually feel more refreshed when you wake up at the end of a sleep cycle.
Here is the chart of sleep time calculator that helps you to figure out the time you need for a night:
| WAKE-UP TIME (A.M.) | BEDTIME 7.5 HRS (P.M.) | BEDTIME 9 HRS (P.M.) |
| 4:00 | 8:15 | 6:45 |
| 4:30 | 8:45 | 7:15 |
| 5:00 | 9:15 | 7:45 |
| 5:30 | 9:45 | 8:15 |
| 6:00 | 10:15 | 8:45 |
| 6:30 | 10:45 | 9:15 |
| 7:00 | 11:15 | 9:45 |
| 7:30 | 11:45 | 10:15 |
| 8:00 | 00:15 | 10:45 |
What are the stages of sleep?
Your brain and body will go through a different cycle of sleep when you fall asleep, and each cycle includes five distinct stages.
- First Stage: this is the first stage of sleep between being awake and falling asleep
- Second Stage: you become unaware of the surrounding environment, and your body temperature will drop gradually
- Third & Fourth Stage: you will reach deep sleep at this stage, and your breathing and heart rate will reach their lowest levels
- REM (rapid eye movement) sleep: as the final stage of your sleep cycle, your brain becomes most active and dream occurs. It will boost both your physical and mental performance when you wake up
On average, it takes you roughly 90 minutes to go through each cycle. See more details about different stages of sleep from our previous article How to understand Stages of Sleep And Sleep Better?.
Tips for better sleep
To improve your sleep hygiene, you’d better revamp your habits and routines every day. Here are some ways to improve your sleep quality:
- Do exercise every day: exercising will improve your sleep quality and reduce insomnia
- Avoid caffeine at night: avoid these stimulants before bed which can potentially interfere with sleep
- Turn off electronic devices before bed: your phone or tablet will emit blue light which can suppress the hormone necessary for the sleep
- Drown out sound and light: using earplugs or a white noise machine to reduce disruptions before bed
- Be consistent: going to bed and waking up at the same times every day helps your body develops a rhythm
- Use a sleep app: such as ShutEye. Choose relaxing sounds to fall asleep faster and track your sleep quality for better health.
Having a consistent schedule with enough time for sleep is vital to enhance your sleep hygiene, while the sleep time calculator can help you establish a bedtime and wake-up time. Finding the right recipe for sleep hygiene would involve certain trial-and-error, however, it would help to determine what works for you exactly.
