How much sleep does a person need? See if you can sleep 5 hours a day without any health consequences

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Sleep is one of the basic human physiological needs. It has been said for years that you should sleep 8 hours a day. Neither more nor less. But is it true? How long should deep sleep be? We have a scientific (sources:,,) answer to these questions!

How much sleep does a person need? Sleep as a biological process

Sleep is a physiological process in our body. It consists of two phases: NREM and REM. During each of them, our body carries out various activities, which are as follows:

• NREM (slow eye movement or slow wave sleep) – lasts 80 – 100 minutes, most functions are disabled or strongly weakened by the brain, lowering blood pressure, reducing glucose consumption, slower heart rate. The body is regenerating itself
• REM (fast eye movements or paradoxical sleep) – lasts 5 – 30 minutes, it is called the dream phase. It is characterized, first of all, by the relaxation of all muscles and a slowdown in metabolism. In addition, in this phase, stress hormones disappear and growth hormones appear that rebuild tissues. Additionally, the brain preserves memory.

How much sleep does a person need?

It has been established that a person needs about 8 hours of sleep a day. Is it true? Let’s start with what determines the amount of sleep you need:

1. age – the amount of sleep needed is closely related to age, the older a person, the less sleep they need. Here is a breakdown of night rest needs by age:
   – Newborns up to 3 months: 11-19 hours,
   – Babies 4–11 months: 10–18 hours,
   – One-year and two-year-old children: 9-16 hours,
   – Preschoolers 3-5 years: 8-14 hours,
   – School children 6–13 years old: 7–12 hours,
   – Teenagers 14-17 years: 7-11 hours,
   – Young adults 18–25: 6–11 hours,
   – Adults 26-64 years: 6-10 hours,
   – Older Adults 65+: 5-9 hours.
2. activity during the day – less active people (e.g. seniors) need less sleep,
3. individual conditions – belong to them sleep cycle length and number of phases and the preferred time to fall asleep and wake up. The length of the sleep cycle and the number of sleep phases is different for each of us. In order to get enough sleep, we need a different sleep cycle length and a different number of phases. For example: person 1 needs 4 cycles of 80 minutes each, which gives 5 hours of sleep, and person 2 needs 6 cycles of 120 minutes (i.e. 12 hours of sleep). It is also genetically determined whether we are early risers or night owls.

So, is it possible to sleep 5 hours a day without any health consequences?

Theoretically yes (especially in the group of people 65+), but it is not recommended. Most people need more sleep (at least 6-7 hours) to function properly. Regular falling asleep causes many health problems, including:

• problems with memory and concentration,
• a greater feeling of hunger (as a consequence – weight gain),
• problems with the circulatory system,
• the risk of diabetes.

Okay, but how do you know if we sleep too little? The following list includes signs that we are not getting enough sleep:

• inability to get up without an alarm clock,
• notorious use of the alarm clock “nap”,
• difficulties with getting up in the morning,
• afternoon sluggishness,
• falling asleep during e.g. meetings, classes, watching TV, in a warm place, etc.,
• drowsiness after more filling meals or while driving,
• the need to take naps during the day and sleep on days off,
• falling asleep quickly (in a few minutes).

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