Recommended Hours of Sleep by Age Chart

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Medically reviewed by Brandy Hall, MSN, RN, on 03/22/2023

Quick facts about how much sleep you need:

• For the average adult, you go through about 4 to 6 sleep cycles a night. To go through these cycles, you’ll need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep.  
• Sleep recommendations are based on public health recommendations, which means you could need more, or less, to feel restored.  
• Let your body sleep and wake without alarms for 10 to 14 days to find out how many hours you naturally need.  
• Be careful of overestimating sleep. Awake time in bed shouldn’t count towards your total hours.  
• Infants and children need their caregiver’s help to establish a healthy sleep schedule. Kids will also benefit from a 30-minute wind down routine before bed.  

We’ve all experienced the benefits of good sleep before. You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, relaxed, and restored? Now think back to how much sleep that was — was it six hours of sleep or seven or eight? There is no single “right” answer because it varies from person to person. Age, environmental factors, daily sleep habits, and individual needs, from activity level to overall health, can all impact how many hours of sleep you need.

Keep reading for experts’ top tips to help you obtain an optimal amount of quality sleep. Hint: It starts with not obsessing over getting the recommended “normal” number of hours.

The average amount of sleep needed by adults and kids

Before we dive into tips, it’s good to start with a baseline. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults between 25 and 64 years of age need an average of 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Adults 65 and older need 7 to 8 hours per night. This is based on public health recommendations, but internal and external factors may change the number of hours you need.

Kids in particular need the most sleep, to promote growth and development. The amount of sleep needed varies, depending on their age, family schedules, and individual temperament.

See our chart below for how much sleep you might need by age:

	Age range	Recommended hours of sleep per day*	Ideal bedtime
Newborn	0-3 months	14 to 17	N/A
Infant	4-11 months	12 to 15	6 – 7 p. m.
Toddler	1-2 years	11 to 14	7 – 7:30 p.m.
Preschool	3-5 years	10 to 13	7 – 8 p.m.
School-age	6-13 years	9 to 11	8 – 9:30 p.m.
Teen	14-17 years	8 to 10	9 – 10:30 p.m.
Young adult	18-25 years	7 to 9	8 – 12 p.m.
Adult	26-64 years	7 to 9	8 – 12 p. m.
Older adult	65 years and up	7 to 8	8 – 12 p.m.

*Per National Sleep Foundation guidelines

While determining your bedtime, consider sleep hygiene rules such as:

• Limiting screentime 1 hour before bed 
• Avoiding caffeine 6 to 8 hours before bed  
• Having a 30-minute bedtime routine to fully wind down and relax 

Optimal bedtimes for kids to get enough sleep

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“Newborns don’t really have well-organized sleep with a true bedtime until the 4- to 6-month mark,” says Lynelle Schneeberg, Psy.D., a pediatric sleep psychologist and author of “Become Your Child’s Sleep Coach.”

“From the 4-to-6-month mark until the first birthday, most [experts] recommend a bedtime of 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. For toddlers, the bedtime could move a bit later, 7 p. m. to 7:30 p.m.,” she notes.

Parents will need to factor in time for their child’s bedtime routine, about 15 to 30 minutes for babies six months and up and toddlers, depending on whether it is a bath night, Schneeberg says. Even if the child has historically taken longer to settle, Schneeberg recommends capping the routine at 30 minutes. “If the routines are too long or complicated, kids are more likely to stall and try to add things to the routine.”

For school-age children, Schneeberg recommends a bedtime between 8:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; for teens, a 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. range is ideal.

How sleep quantity aids with sleep quality

Dr. Abhinav Singh, the medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center and clinical assistant professor at Marian University, explains that two kinds of sleep take place during the night, and you need to experience both for optimal rest. “Adults typically go through four to six sleep cycles a night,” explains Singh. “This adds up to roughly about 7 to 9 hours of sleep to accommodate the range. ”

The two types of sleep are:

• non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM): NREM sleep consists of sleep stages 1 to 3, which is governed by homeostasis. Stages 1 and 2 are “light” stages because it’s easier to wake up during these stages. Most of your night will be in stage 2. Stage 3, also known as deep or slow wave sleep, is when the body takes care of housekeeping, including muscle repair, growth hormone release, brain toxin cleansing, and some types of memory functions. 
• rapid eye movement (REM) sleep: REM sleep, also known as dream sleep, is governed by your circadian rhythms. This is the time your brain uses to sort through memories, emotions, and general comprehension.  

While certain stages are considered lighter or deeper, you can still be woken up from each.

How to prioritize quality over quantity

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Have you ever gotten 8 or 9 hours of sleep and woken up feeling unrefreshed? When this happens, it indicates that the quality of sleep was insufficient, says Singh. He says that a variety of intrinsic factors can be disrupting sleep, including a partner’s snoring, restless limbs, insomnia, or sleeping in an environment that’s too hot or too cold, has too much light, or is prone to noise.

1. Figure out your natural sleep number

Instead of stressing about getting eight hours of sleep, let your body drive your sleep number. Singh cites an approach developed by his colleague Dr. Charles Joonghie Bae, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Let your body naturally fall asleep and wake up and see where the number lands. At the end of 10 to 14 days of alarm-free sleep, you will know your natural sleep needs,” he says.

Some ways to track and discover your sleep number include using sleep diary. Or for an automated approach, try a fitness or app sleep tracker. Be wary of sleep debt, which can influence how much sleep you need at first.

2. Follow your natural circadian rhythm

Rather than defining sleep as bedtime, consider when you start to feel tired or relaxed — and what time the lights are out (literally and figuratively). Figuratively, it’s when the sun sets as less light exposure triggers your sleep–wake cycle so your body will produce melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone.

“As the light fades, your sleep drive tends to rise,” says Singh. “As the light brightens, your sleep drive is repressed, and your wake drives are elevated.”

Literally speaking, turning off devices to avoid blue lights or switching bulbs to emit warm tones will also support your natural sleep-wake cycle. Adjusting your sleep schedule to your natural sleep-wake cycle will help you transition from falling asleep to being asleep much easier.

3. Choose your bedtime, based on your cycle

Now you know how many hours your body likes to sleep and around what time you start getting tired and want to relax. Take those numbers, determine what time you need to wake up, and work backwards from there. Singh says that an ideal bedtime range for adults is between 8 p.m. and midnight, though he acknowledges that individuals must consider their social and work responsibilities and intrinsic preferences, such as being a night owl versus a morning person.

Let’s say that you need to wake up by 6 a.m. and that you need 8 hours of sleep. Your bedtime, that is, the time you need to fall asleep by, would be 10 p.m. However, it’s unlikely that you’ll fall asleep right away, so you factor in the 20 to 30 minutes it takes to settle in bed, which means: If you need 8 hours of sleep and need to be up by 6 a.m., you want to be in bed by 9:30 p.m.

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4. Don’t forget wind down time

Kids aren’t the only ones who benefit from a bedtime routine. Singh advises that adults give themselves 30 minutes to wind down before sleep.

He suggests what he’s dubbed the 4-Play Method: shower, journal, read, and breathe. “That becomes the routine so like a Pavlovian dog, it teaches the brain that this spells sleep,” Singh says.

1. Shower or bath: This helps rev up your body temperature; as the skin dilates and loses heat, melatonin rises. 
2. Journal: Jot down your to-do list or thoughts, then put it away.   
3. Read: Spend 10 to 15 minutes listening to or reading an article or book. 
4. Breathe: Do a little bit of relaxed breathing with yoga or listen to a meditation. 

If your bedtime was 9:30 p.m., after adding another 30 minutes for a wind-down routine, this means you’d want to start the process of getting to sleep by 9 p.m.

Of course, if you work from home or don’t have other morning commitments such as getting kids ready for school, you may be able to shift your bedtime routine later. If you are a morning person, Singh’s tip is to try and sleep before midnight. Sleeping before midnight, for most morning people, allows for adequate amounts of both non-REM and REM sleep in their natural circadian rhythm.

Be careful of overestimating how much sleep you’re getting

If you tend to toss and turn before sleep, be mindful of how much time it takes to sleep when you’re actually in bed. Overestimating sleep could lead to a chronic lack of sleep, which has been linked to health issues such as heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and depression.

“[Many] think they’re getting 45 minutes to an hour more of sleep [than they actually are],” Singh says. “It takes 20 minutes after your eyes shut to get into restful, restorative sleep.” That time could take even longer, however, if you do other activities in bed like reading or scrolling on your phone.

If you’re not a sleep diary person and like your tracking automated, using a sleep tracker can help you figure out what time you’ve been going to bed. “[Sleep trackers] may be slightly better at estimating quantity rather than quality,” Singh says. But at the end of the day — or in the morning — trust your body to tell you how you feel about your sleep last night.

Layla Khoury-Hanold is a freelance journalist covering food, travel, and lifestyle stories. Her work has appeared online with Food Network, Refinery29, the Chicago Tribune, Saveur, and the James Beard Foundation, and in print with Drinks International, Our State, The Roanoker, and INDY Week. Follow her writing and food adventures on Instagram @words_with_layla.

How many hours of sleep do adults need?

Culture often idolises high profile figures who boast about surviving on little sleep in order to optimise their productivity. If you’ve ever known someone to thrive on minimal sleep, i.e. achieve everything they need to and more on five hours or less, just know these type of people are extremely rare. “There are a very rare few genetic mutants out there who have a short sleeping gene, who can perhaps survive on maybe six hours and 15 minutes,” says Walker. “To give you some statistical context, it’s much more likely that you will be struck by lightning in your lifetime than be one of these individuals.”

Equally, very few people need more than nine hours of sleep regularly. “You have to be someone who is doing things in extremes before you extend beyond the bounds of what is normal for most people,” Walker continues. “A good demonstration would be elite athletes. Because of their physical training, they may need a higher sleep amount.” Basically, unless you’re Usain Bolt, seven to nine hours should suit you just fine.

Should I be going to sleep at a certain time?

Your bedtime will ultimately come down to what time you need to get up. But aligning these times with your body’s natural rhythm will boost the quality of your sleep. Each of us follows an internal 24-hour clock, known as the circadian rhythm, which tells us when to sleep and when to wake up. 

This is influenced by many factors – light and temperature among them – but your chronotype also plays a role. Your chronotype is your body’s natural inclination to sleep and wake at a certain time and determines whether you are a morning lark, night owl or somewhere in between. If you know someone who naturally wakes up late and works best late at night, this is often because they’re wired as such. Many don’t choose to perform this way and struggle with society’s traditional schedule of 9-5 working hours as a result.  

“If you sleep in sync with your internal body clock, the quality of your sleep will be better,” says Leschziner. “Living out of sync with your body clock, even if you are getting sufficient sleep, can have negative effects.”

OK, so how do I figure out what’s right for me? 

Following your instincts is key to understanding how much sleep you need within the advised seven to nine hour limit. If you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day, you’re unlikely going to need much more or less. 

Beyond this, there are a few things you can do. “Firstly, if you currently use an alarm and your alarm didn’t go off tomorrow morning, would you sleep past that alarm?” asks Walker. “If the answer is yes, then it means that your brain is not yet done with the sleep that it needs. It still needs more.”

Dr Alanna Hare, a consultant in sleep and ventilation at Royal Brompton Hospital, also suggests establishing a routine and sticking to it. “If you are going to bed and getting up at a different time every night and getting variable amounts of sleep each night, it is impossible to know how much sleep you need,” she says. Pick a waking up time and work backwards from there to establish a fixed bedtime. As above, this should be seven to nine hours earlier. Stick to this routine for two weeks. If you feel exhausted, gradually go to bed earlier. Likewise, if you find you’re unable to fall asleep within 30 minutes, gradually go to bed later. “Keep doing this until you find you are generally waking refreshed and able to comfortably get through your day. That is the amount of sleep you need!” So next time someone asks “how many hours of sleep do adults need?”, you know the answer. 

How much sleep does an adult need to get enough sleep

Published: 03/06/2019Updated: 05/11/2023

What is sleep and what role does it play for the human body? Processes that occur in the body during rest. What should be the rest: recommended duration, basic rules. The negative effects of an overabundance or a long lack of sleep. Learn to wake up easily in the morning.

Sleep is a natural physiological need of every person. It is responsible for many internal processes, contributes to the rapid recovery of the nervous system and serves as a good prevention of many diseases. However, just like lack of sleep, too much sleep is also harmful to humans. Therefore, today we propose to discuss how much sleep you need to get enough sleep and what are the key rules here.

Concept and physiology

Sleep is a physiological state during which the body rests and restores the energy expended during the day. This phase is characterized by the following features:

• the reaction to any external factors decreases
• brain activity slows down,
• sensor systems become less sensitive,
• decreases the intensity of heart contractions,
• slows down the secretion of glands (the appearance of a feeling of dryness in the mouth, sticking of the eyelids and a burning sensation in the eyes).

The sleep period is replaced by the wakefulness stage, when all systems and internal processes are in an active state. This usually happens at intervals of 24 hours.

It has long been established that many areas of life depend on the quality of sleep: mental abilities, well-being, mood, work results and social life of a person. That is why it is very important to follow the recommended amount of sleep for adults and children. We will return to this issue later in the text.

Basic stages of sleep

Throughout the night, a sleeping person successively goes through several repetitive stages. There are 5 in total:

Stage 1 — a person is in a state of drowsiness and dreams. Often at this stage various images and hallucinogenic thoughts appear in the imagination. The activity of many systems decreases: muscles, respiration, pulse, metabolism. The body temperature also drops.

stage 2 – light sleep, in which muscle activity continues to decrease. This stage takes about half of the time a person sleeps. Consciousness is turned off, but a person can be easily awakened.

Stage 3 – at this stage, non-REM sleep occurs. In total, it takes no more than 50% of the entire period of time when a person is resting.

Stage 4 – is considered the period of the deepest sleep, when it is very difficult to wake a person. It is at this time that realistic nightmares can occur, sleepwalking may occur, a person sometimes begins to talk in his sleep. However, in the morning you most likely will not remember any of this.

Stage 5 – REM sleep, in which the brain is in the same active state as during wakefulness. However, due to a sharp drop in muscle tone, the person remains motionless. If you watch, you can see the rapid rotation of the eyeballs under closed eyelids.

The first 4 stages are classified as non-REM sleep, which can last 80-90 minutes. The person then enters the fast phase (the fifth stage, which usually lasts 10-15 minutes). Researchers have found that it is during the stages of non-REM sleep that the energy expended during the day is restored.

Benefits of sleep for the human body

Adequate rest in a sufficient number of hours is a prerequisite for the normal life of every person. It has the following positive effects on the body:

1. Ensuring the processing and systematization of information received by the human brain during the day. Probably each of you noticed that in the morning it is much easier to repeat the material that was learned in the evening.
2. Replenishment of energy that was spent during wakefulness. During sleep, the excitability of neurons decreases, which contributes to the rapid restoration of strength and energy. If a person did not fully sleep, then in the morning he will feel even more tired and overwhelmed.
3. Healthy sleep also has a positive effect on immunity. It strengthens the immune system and enhances the protective function. Therefore, a person who regularly gets enough sleep is to some extent more protected from aggressive external influences.
4. During rest, muscle tissue damage is repaired more quickly.
5. At night, when a person is resting, the glymphotic system is activated, which is responsible for cleansing the brain from harmful components produced by brain cells.

Thus, it is difficult to overestimate the benefits of a night’s rest for the body. In order to always feel good, recover quickly after a difficult day and not get sick, it is necessary to observe the norm of sleep for adults and children.

How much should a person sleep?

Probably many of you often have the question of how much sleep an adult needs to sleep in order to feel alert and rested.
For different periods of life, their own norm is established. Age plays a key role here.

Let’s see how many hours a day to sleep in different periods of growing up:

If you look closely at the above normative values ​​for each period of life, you can see that as you grow older, the sleep rate is gradually reduced. At the same time, there is an opinion that women should sleep a couple of hours longer than men. This conclusion is associated with the ability of the female brain to focus attention simultaneously on several processes.

Negative consequences of lack of sleep

If a person systematically lacks sleep, then soon various failures begin to occur in his body, which slow down the usual rhythm of life.

Consider the consequences of lack of sleep:

1. There is a violation of many cognitive functions – attention is scattered and it is impossible to concentrate on business, memory deteriorates, a person experiences difficulties in mastering skills, perceives new information worse. Undoubtedly, all this negatively affects work and study.
2. Due to the weakening of the immune system, a person is increasingly starting to get sick. At the same time, recovery is slow and difficult.
3. The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and many other pathological conditions increases.
4. Sleep deficiency causes negative changes in the cerebral cortex. There is a systematic accumulation of waste products of brain cells. In the end, such a dangerous condition as Alzheimer’s disease can develop.
5. Regular lack of sleep often leads to various mental disorders. A person may have obsessive thoughts, he loses the ability to objectively evaluate his actions and analyze the situation. Often all this results in chronic depression.
6. Significant deterioration in general well-being – headaches and dizziness, weakness in the body may appear. In especially severe cases, a person may be in a semi-conscious state.

What happens to the body if you sleep a lot?

Too much sleep is just as bad as not enough. If you sleep a lot, then the following negative consequences may soon occur:

1. If a person systematically sleeps more than the allotted norm for a long time, he may develop hypersomnia. It is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by persistent drowsiness, mental retardation, and difficulty waking up.
2. After a long rest, a feeling of fatigue and loss of strength persists. In addition, this condition is often accompanied by a severe headache, general weakness and malaise.
3. Too much sleep can lead to weight gain. This is due to the active production of ghrelin (hunger hormone), because of which a person begins to overeat. In addition, metabolism is disturbed, which also leads to obesity.
4. There is a high risk of developing dangerous diseases. For example, it can be diabetes mellitus or various pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

Is it possible to sleep during the day?

Probably you have often noticed that at lunchtime you start to get very sleepy. For children, afternoon rest is a must, as it helps the nervous system recover faster, has a positive effect on memory and the perception of new information.

However, is it possible and how much for an adult to sleep during the day?
The positive impact of daytime sleep on the human body has long been identified. Such rest neutralizes excess cortisol (stress hormone) and improves overall well-being:

• a person experiences a surge of energy and cheerfulness,
• reduces the risk of migraine,
• quickly recover strength,
• improves performance.

The main rule is that daytime sleep should not be long. In order to recover and gain strength, it will be enough to lie down for 30-40 minutes.

Thus, if after dinner you are very sleepy, it is better not to fight this condition, but to allow yourself to rest for 30-40 minutes (if possible). This will help to quickly restore strength and increase efficiency. The main thing is not to sleep more than the set time. Otherwise, the effect will be opposite.

7 rules of healthy sleep

To always feel cheerful, fresh and resourceful, it is enough to follow a few simple rules of healthy sleep. Try to do them regularly and you will immediately notice positive changes:

1. Going to bed should be in accordance with circadian rhythms, as all processes in the body are subject to. The optimal time is no later than 23:00. At the same time, you should get up early, namely at 6-7 in the morning. So you will comply with the established norm of sleep for an adult.
2. Try to fall asleep at the same time. At first, it can be difficult, but soon the body will quickly get used to and adjust to such a schedule.
3. Do not go to bed with a full stomach. The last meal should be 2-3 hours before a night’s rest. It is desirable that this be a light dinner. For example, cottage cheese or vegetables with low-fat baked fish.
4. Before going to bed, it is better to refrain from coffee or other drinks that can cheer you up. Otherwise, you will not be able to fall asleep for a long time and break the usual schedule of night rest.
5. Don’t forget to properly prepare for sleep. Be sure to ventilate your bedroom. If you are afraid of catching a cold, you can install a breather, then there will always be fresh clean air in your room. You can also take a relaxing bath. Calm pleasant music or a book will help to tune in to rest.
6. The quality of sleep also depends on the clothes you sleep in. It is preferable that it be comfortable, spacious pajamas or a shirt made of soft natural fabric. This will allow your body to relax more quickly and you will be able to sleep well. The same rule applies to bed. At night, you should not experience any discomfort.
7. If you have trouble falling asleep, you can take a walk in the fresh air before going to bed. Pure oxygen has a hypnotic and sedative effect, so after a walk it often makes you sleepy.

How to learn to wake up easily in the morning?

Waking up in the morning becomes a real challenge for many people. Hence problems such as constant lateness to work, stress during rushed morning gatherings and a ruined working day.

If you find it hard to get up in the morning, then perhaps these recommendations will help to correct the situation:

• The most important rule is to follow the established norm of sleep for an adult. If you go to bed every time after midnight, then you will not be able to get enough sleep and you will always feel tired and weak,
• don’t lie in bed for a long time after the alarm has rung. Try to get up and do things right away,
• do not forget about morning rituals – light exercises, cheerful music, a contrast shower and a cup of coffee help to cope with the desire to sleep,
• you can try to motivate yourself to get up early with some pleasant things left for the morning. For example, reading your favorite book before work or watching a series of an interesting series.

When switching to healthy sleep, the most important thing is to start. When the body is rebuilt in a new way, it will become much easier to go to bed on time and wake up early in the morning. Remember that for the normal course of all internal processes, it is very important to give the body a proper rest. We wish you good health!

How much sleep do you need to get enough sleep

July 3, 2020

Life

Scientists named a specific time for each.

At first glance, everything seems simple: to get a good night’s sleep, you just need to sleep longer. But if you are a fan of such “simple” solutions, Lifehacker has some bad news for you.

Why too much sleep is just as bad as too little

Lack of sleep has a lot of side effects: from fatigue and loss of concentration to the inability to feel like a person without being filled with caffeine up to your ears. They are known to anyone who has passed difficult sessions or is too familiar with the phrase “deadline tomorrow morning.” However, overfilling is fraught with serious troubles.

In a large-scale study of almost one and a half million adults, an interesting statistical pattern was established. People who sleep less than 6 hours a night have a 12% higher risk of dying prematurely from any health problem than those who get the standard 8 hours of sleep. But for those who like to sleep longer than 9 hours every day, the risks of dying prematurely are even higher – up to 30%!

And the desire to sleep more than 8-9 hours, if it accompanies a person constantly, is a dangerous marker of cardiovascular disease.

In general, sleeping a little longer is sometimes, of course, a good option. But it is better not to flirt and try to keep sleep within certain norms. Moreover, these norms have already been calculated.

How much sleep do you need to be productive and healthy? They formed an expert group of the world’s leading sleep scientists, as well as representatives of the most authoritative organizations in the field of health: neurologists, psychiatrists, gerontologists, pediatricians …

For two years, researchers have carefully studied scientific publications and reports related to sleep and its impact on the body and well-being. As a result, updated recommendations regarding the duration of rest, depending on age, appeared.

Here’s how much sleep you need to be productive and healthy:

• Newborns (0-3 months) – 14-17 hours.
• Infants (4-11 months) – 12-15 hours.
• Toddlers (1-2 years) – 11-14 hours.
• Preschoolers (3-5 years old) – 10-13 hours.
• Junior students (6-13 years old) – 9-11 hours.
• Teenagers (14-17 years old) – 8-10 hours.
• Boys and girls (18-25 years old) – 7-9 hours.
• Adults (26-64 years old) – 7-9 hours.
• Seniors (65 years and older) – 7-8 hours.

The spread in numbers is related to the individual characteristics of each person. And this is understandable, because the amount of sleep we need depends not only on age, but also on lifestyle, activity level, as well as general health.

However, the boundaries of healthy sleep are still quite categorical. If you sleep more or less than the time indicated for your age group, we are most likely talking about sleep disorders – with various health consequences.

The only way to start getting enough sleep is to try to “fit” the duration of sleep into a healthy frame.

When to go to bed to get enough sleep

Most often, the problem of lack or excess of sleep is caused by two things:

1. You cannot go to bed on time.
2. You can’t wake up in time.

And if the solution of the first point is largely related to self-discipline, then in the second case the situation is more complicated. It often happens that, having honestly gone to bed at 23:00, we wake up to the alarm clock, for example, at 6:30. But at the same time, we feel completely overwhelmed – although the recommended norm seems to be observed.

The reason is that sleep is a cyclic phenomenon. It consists of 5-6 time periods lasting about 90 minutes each. At the beginning of the cycle, we fall asleep, closer to the middle – we sleep soundly. And by the end, the body is ready to wake up easily – from the alarm signal or, let’s say, sunlight.

Summary: To wake up quickly and cheerfully, set your alarm clock correctly. You can calculate the time for which to start it yourself – for example, using Lifehacker’s sleep calculator.

Another option is to use one of the mobile apps that track your sleep quality and wake you up at just the right time.