Sleep Calculator for Women
Plan a bedtime or wake up time with sleep cycles, see how much sleep women need by age, and find guides for pregnancy, the weeks after birth and menopause.
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Free sleep calculator for women
Women need the same amount of sleep as men of the same age. For adults that is 7 or more hours, which is about five 90 minute sleep cycles. What changes across life is how easy it is to get that sleep.
Choose a wake up time, a bedtime, or sleep now and the calculator shows times that end a full cycle. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
How much sleep do women need
Published sleep guidance is set by age, not by sex. The adult figure comes from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society consensus statement, and the CDC lists the same bands by age. There are no separate official hour targets for women.
| Age | Recommended sleep per day |
|---|---|
| 18 to 60 | 7 or more hours |
| 61 to 64 | 7 to 9 hours |
| 65 and older | 7 to 8 hours |
| 13 to 18 | 8 to 10 hours |
| 6 to 12 | 9 to 12 hours |
For every age from 1 to 80, see the sleep calculator by age.
Sleep calculator by age and gender
If you searched for a sleep calculator by age and gender, the honest answer is that age is what moves the recommended hours. Sex and gender do not change the target, so a calculator that gives different hours for men and women is adding a difference the guidance does not support. What the calculator can do is help you plan around the times of life when sleep is harder to protect.
Sleep guides for different life stages
Surveys often find that women report trouble sleeping more often than men, and sleep can change around pregnancy, the weeks after birth, and the years around menopause. These guides cover those stages in more detail.
- Pregnancy: bedtimes and positions that help during pregnancy
- Third trimester: when comfort and night waking get harder
- New mothers: sleep planning around night feeds
- Breastfeeding: fitting sleep around feeding
- Postpartum: recovering sleep in the weeks after birth
- Perimenopause: sleep changes before periods stop
- Menopause: night sweats, waking and bedtime planning
- PCOS: sleep problems linked with polycystic ovary syndrome
- Endometriosis: sleeping with pelvic pain
None of these pages replace advice from your own doctor or midwife.
When your sleep is broken up
If night feeds, pain, hot flushes or worry mean you wake often, a bedtime based on cycles will not fix the night by itself. Use the sleep estimator calculator to see how much sleep you are really getting once time awake is removed, and plan short naps with the nap calculator. If you regularly sleep far less than you need, snore loudly with pauses in breathing, or feel very low or anxious, talk to a doctor.
Want the reasons behind these numbers? Read why women sleep differently, or compare with the sleep cycle calculator and the sleep estimator.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours of sleep do women need?
Adult women need the same as adult men: 7 or more hours according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Guidance is set by age, not by sex.
Do women need more sleep than men?
Official recommendations do not list a different number of hours for women. Some people need more sleep than others, and life stages such as pregnancy and the weeks after birth can make it harder to get enough.
What is a good bedtime for a woman who wakes at 6 AM?
With 15 minutes to fall asleep, five cycles means being asleep by 10:15 PM and six cycles means 8:45 PM. Use the calculator above for other wake up times.
Does the calculator work during pregnancy?
The cycle maths is the same. Pregnancy can change how easily you fall asleep and how often you wake, so allow more time in bed and see the pregnancy guide linked above.
Why do I wake up at night around menopause?
Hormone changes, night sweats and other factors can break up sleep in the years around menopause. If it affects your days, speak to your doctor about options. The menopause guide linked above covers practical steps.
Is this medical advice?
No. The page is general education and an estimate. Speak to a doctor about ongoing sleep problems.