Humans spend 25-33% of their entire lives asleep. On an 80-year lifespan, that's 20–27 years unconscious.
How Much Do We Sleep?
Recommended sleep by age (hours): (1) (2)
12-16
Babies (4 months to 1 year old)
11-14
Children (1 to 2 years old)
10-13
Children (3 to 5 years old)
9-12
Children (6 to 12 years old)
8-10
Teenagers
7-9
Adults (18-64)
7-8
Seniors (65+)
Men and womenSleep different
In one UK study of nearly 77 000 people, women on average slept about 17 minutes longer per night than men. (16)
Over time, that small difference adds up: roughly 8.5 extra hours per month (about 102 hours per year), equivalent to more than four full days annually.
Across an average female lifespan of 76.4 years (17), this amounts to over 320 extra days of sleep compared to men. In other words, women spend almost an entire additional year of life asleep.
Restless legs syndrome and obstructive sleep apnoea by gender
Women have a 25 to 50 per cent higher likelihood of developing restless legs syndrome. (18)
Men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). (18)
Time-saving perspective
0 HRS
(Time saved annually)
Less sleep, more life?
Can we benefit from sleeping slightly less than the recommended amount, without negative effects on our health?
If someone sleeps just one hour less per day, that adds up to around 2–3 extra years of wakeful, conscious life over an average lifespan*, equivalent to approximately 1,100–1,200 additional waking days.
based on an average lifespan of 75–80 years.
What's The Cost?
Number of Americans that sleep five hours or less has increased from 3% in 1942 to 20% in 2023 (8)
respondents stated they typically wake up at least once during the night.(10)
5% of Europeans (Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Italy) sleep less than 6 hours (9)
Most people need around seven to nine hours of sleep to maintain metabolic health, emotional stability, immune resilience, and cognitive performance. Chronic restriction below that threshold is consistently associated with measurable biological costs even when we don't immediately feel them. A very small minority of people appear genetically wired to function well on less. Elite athletes, on the other end of the spectrum, often require more sleep to support physical recovery and peak performance.
Cutting one hour of sleep per night could add years of conscious time across a lifetime, but time gained is not automatically time gained well, it is up to each individual to find the correct balance.
PRODUCED BY GRAPHONAUT · 2026
INFOGRAPHIC CONCEPT & DESIGN: Boris Benko
ILLUSTRATIONS / GRAPHIC ELEMENTS / DATA VISUALIZATIONS: Boris Benko, Josip Dujmović
COPYWRITING & RESEARCH: Goran Koprenica
ANIMATIONS: Vedran Jevtović
CONTENT DIRECTOR: Colin Eldridge
COPY EDITOR / PROOFREADER: Jacob Roundy
FRONT-END DEVELOPER: Amy Evans
SOURCES: