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Is sleep really that important?
YES! Sleep is extremely important for both your health and productivity. When it comes to your health, taking care of yourself should always be a priority, and getting enough quality sleep is an important part of that.
Sleep gives your body and brain time to rest, recover and prepare for the next day. It can support concentration, mood, immune function, physical recovery and overall well-being. Sleep also plays an important role in attention, decision-making, and other cognitive functions.
But how much sleep do you actually need?
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
The amount of sleep you need depends on your age. The National Sleep Foundation’s recommendations provide the following general guidelines:
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- Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours each day
- Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours
- Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
- Preschoolers (3-5 years): 10-13 hours
- School-age children (6-13 years): 9-11 hours
- Teenagers (14-17 years): 8-10 hours
- Younger adults (18-25 years): 7-9 hours
- Adults (26-64 years): 7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+ years): 7-8 hours
These recommendations come from the National Sleep Foundation. Current sleep guidance continues to support at least seven hours for most adults, with individual needs varying based on factors such as age, health and lifestyle.
If you feel like you don’t have time to sleep the recommended amount, you’re not alone. Work, family responsibilities, and everyday life can make it tempting to sacrifice an hour or two of sleep. But consistently cutting sleep short can affect how you feel and function during the day.
Getting enough sleep is not simply about the number of hours you spend in bed. Sleep quality matters, too. Repeatedly waking during the night, waking up feeling unrefreshed, or feeling excessively sleepy during the day may be signs that your sleep is not as restorative as it should be.
The professionals at HelpGuide also emphasize the importance of getting enough sleep for your physical and mental health.
The Pros and Cons of Sleep
There really aren’t many downsides to getting adequate, quality sleep. The bigger concern is consistently getting too little.
The original version of this article referenced research about a rare genetic variation that may allow some people to function well on only about six hours of sleep. This variation is considered uncommon, which is why most people should not assume that they can train themselves to function normally on very little sleep.
For most adults, seven or more hours is the recommended minimum. Getting less than seven hours regularly has been associated with impaired performance and increased health risks.
In other words, just because you can get through the day on six hours of sleep doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting the amount of sleep your body needs.
Sleep Quality Matters, Too
Getting enough hours is important, but how well you sleep during those hours matters as well.
If you’re spending eight hours in bed but waking repeatedly, struggling to fall asleep or feeling exhausted the next day, it may be worth looking at your sleep habits and environment.
According to Healthy Longevity Science, several everyday factors can influence sleep quality:
- Keep a consistent wake-up time. Large differences between your weekday and weekend schedules can make it harder to maintain a regular sleep rhythm.
- Get daylight and movement during the day. Regular activity and exposure to daylight can help support a healthy sleep-wake schedule.
- Pay attention to caffeine. Coffee isn’t the only source. Tea, energy drinks and pre-workout products can also contain caffeine, which can affect sleep for hours.
- Create a comfortable bedroom. A quiet, dark, and comfortably cool environment can make it easier to sleep.
- Give yourself time to wind down. Reducing bright light and stimulating activities close to bedtime may help your body prepare for sleep.
- Be mindful of alcohol. Although alcohol may make you feel sleepy initially, it doesn’t necessarily lead to more restorative sleep.
The goal isn’t to create a complicated nighttime routine. Instead, focus on identifying what’s interfering with your sleep and make a few changes that you can consistently maintain.
Make Your Sleep Environment Work for You
Your bedroom may be affecting your sleep more than you realize.
A recent article from Hartford HealthCare highlights temperature, light and noise as important environmental factors that can influence sleep quality.
A few simple changes may help:
Block Out Light
Light can interfere with the body’s signals that it’s time to sleep. A sleep mask or blackout curtains can help create a darker sleeping environment, particularly if you have streetlights, early morning sunlight, or other sources of light entering your bedroom.
Reduce Noise
Unexpected sounds can interrupt sleep, even if they don’t fully wake you. Earplugs or a white noise machine may help reduce the impact of outside noise, neighbors or other household sounds.
Keep Your Bedroom Cool and Comfortable
Your body naturally lowers its core temperature as you fall asleep. A bedroom that’s too warm, or bedding that traps excessive heat, may make it more difficult to stay comfortable throughout the night. Cooling pillows or pillowcases may be useful for people who tend to sleep hot.
Consider Comfort-Focused Options
Some people also find products such as weighted blankets helpful for relaxation. Hartford HealthCare notes that a weighted blanket may provide gentle pressure that helps some people feel calmer before sleep. If you choose one, the article recommends looking for a blanket that is approximately 10% of your body weight.
These products aren’t necessary for everyone. The important thing is to identify what is actually interfering with your sleep before spending money on sleep products.
Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?
Many of us have said, “I’ll only get four hours tonight and catch up tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, consistently missing sleep isn’t something you should rely on making up later. Sleep loss can accumulate, and getting extra sleep after a short night may help with recovery, but it doesn’t make chronic sleep deprivation harmless. Current guidance emphasizes getting adequate sleep consistently rather than depending on occasional catch-up sleep.
Instead of thinking about sleep as something you can borrow from tomorrow, try to treat it as part of your regular health routine.
What If You’re Still Tired After Getting Enough Sleep?
Sometimes the problem isn’t simply that you’re not spending enough time in bed.
If you regularly have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep despite having enough opportunity to sleep, it may be worth discussing the problem with a healthcare professional. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is a recommended treatment for persistent insomnia.
You should also pay attention to symptoms that could indicate a sleep disorder. Loud snoring accompanied by pauses in breathing, gasping during sleep, or significant daytime sleepiness can be signs of sleep apnea and may warrant medical evaluation.
And if you’re so sleepy during the day that you’re struggling to stay awake while driving, don’t try to push through it with caffeine. Stop driving and seek appropriate help.
Try a Simple Two-Week Sleep Reset
Improving your sleep doesn’t have to mean changing everything at once.
Healthy Longevity Science suggests using a short sleep diary to identify patterns. For two weeks, you could keep track of:
- Your bedtime
- Approximately how long it takes to fall asleep
- Any nighttime awakenings
- Your wake-up time
- Caffeine and alcohol intake
- Naps
- How you feel the following day
- Your daytime energy or concentration
You don’t need to obsess over exact times. The goal is to identify patterns that you can discuss with a healthcare professional if problems continue.
Start with a consistent wake-up time, make sure you are allowing enough time for sleep and choose two small changes that address your biggest sleep challenges. After two weeks, look at the overall pattern rather than judging yourself based on one bad night.
Take Care of Your Health, Starting With Sleep
Sleep may seem like something you can sacrifice when life gets busy, but it’s an important part of taking care of yourself.
Getting enough quality sleep can help you feel more alert, focused and ready to handle the day. It also gives your body time to recover and supports important functions throughout the body.
So tonight, instead of asking yourself, “How much can I get done before bed?” consider asking, “What can I do tonight to give my body the rest it needs?”
Your health is worth making time for.
Have Health Insurance Questions?
We hope that this information on sleep is helpful to you. If you want to learn more about sleep, check out this article next: Five Tips for Restorative Sleep.
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This article was updated on October 1, 2026 by Nora Vargas.