Sleep Debt Calculator
Calculate your sleep debt and get personalized insights about your sleep patterns. Simply enter your sleep hours for the past week to get started.
How many hours did you sleep each day?
What is Sleep Debt?
Sleep debt refers to the accumulated difference between how much sleep your body needs and how much you actually get. For example, if you need 8 hours of sleep but only get 6, you accrue 2 hours of sleep debt for that night. Over time, this debt can build up and contribute to fatigue, poor concentration, impaired memory, and long-term health problems.
While short-term sleep debt can often be “repaid” with extra rest on subsequent days, chronic sleep debt may take longer to resolve and may impact overall well-being. That's why tracking your weekly sleep patterns is important — and that's what this calculator helps you do.
How We Calculate Sleep Debt
Our calculator compares the amount of sleep you actually got over the past 7 days to your ideal target which you can adjust to suit your personal needs.
For each day, we subtract your actual sleep from your target. If you slept less than your goal, that shortfall is added to your total sleep debt. If you slept more, the surplus helps reduce your debt — though sleep cannot be fully “banked” in advance. Our simple visual meter and personalized message help you understand where you stand.
How Much Sleep Do I Need?
According to the American National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the recommended amount of sleep varies by age:
- Newborns (4-12 months): 12-16 hours
- Children (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
- Children (3-5 years): 10-13 hours
- Children (6-12 years): 9-12 hours
- Teens (13-18 years): 8-10 hours
- Adults (18+ years): 7-8 hours
Our calculator defaults to 8 hours, which is within the recommended range — but you can adjust this value to fit your personal needs.
Health Risks of Sleep Debt
Accumulated sleep debt has been linked to a wide range of health problems, especially when it becomes chronic. These include increased risks of:
- Impaired memory and reduced cognitive performance
- Weakened immune function
- Heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke
- Weight gain and insulin resistance
- Mood disorders like anxiety and depression
Even small nightly deficits — like sleeping 6 hours instead of 7 — can add up over time. Recognizing and addressing sleep debt early helps reduce these risks.
How to Reduce Sleep Debt
The best way to reduce sleep debt is to consistently get more sleep — ideally by going to bed earlier or sleeping in when possible. While you can't “bank” sleep long-term, studies show that sleeping an extra 1–2 hours for a few days can help reverse some short-term effects of sleep deprivation.
Other strategies include improving your sleep hygiene, such as avoiding screens before bed, reducing caffeine intake, keeping a consistent bedtime, and creating a calm, dark sleeping environment. If you've built up a large sleep debt, it's best to recover gradually — not with a single weekend of oversleeping.