The average person burns 68-91 calories per hour of sleep. An entire 8 hours of sleep will burn 544-725 calories.
Sleep is the only activity that burns fewer calories than sitting at room temperature not actively digesting food. It is the lowest caloric burning activity.
Calculator
How many calories do you burn sleeping?
Formula
Calories burned per minute = (MET x body weight in Kg x 3.5) ÷ 200
“MET” is a measurement of the energy cost of physical activity for a period of time. You can find an activity’s MET on the chart above.
A task with a MET of 1 is roughly equal to a person’s energy expenditure from sitting still at room temperature not actively digesting food.
A task with a MET of 2 uses twice as much energy as a task with a MET of 1. A task with a MET of 10 uses 10 times as much energy as a task with a MET of 1.
MET values “do not estimate the energy cost of physical activity in individuals in ways that account for differences in body mass, adiposity, age, sex, efficiency of movement, geographic and environmental conditions in which the activities are performed. Thus, individual differences in energy expenditure for the same activity can be large and the true energy cost for an individual may or may not be close to the stated mean MET level as presented in the Compendium.” (as quoted from the main page of the Compendium of Physical Activities).
The MET values on this page come from Arizona State University Healthy Lifestyles Research Center – Compendium of Physical Activities – Inactivity & 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities Reference List Category 7 – Inactivity Quiet.
Example
A person weighs 180 pounds (81.65kg) and sleeps (a task that has a MET value of 0.95) for 1 hour (60 minutes).
Calories Burned from sleeping (per minute) = (0.95 x 81.65 x 3.5) ÷ 200 = 1.357
Calories Burned from sleeping (for 60 minutes) = 1.357 x 60 = 81
How does your weight impact the number of calories you burn while sleeping?
Your weight impacts the number of calories that burn while you are asleep. Use the table below to see the number of calories you’ll burn while sleeping through the night.
How long do you need to sleep to burn 100, 200, 500, or 1000 calories?
Your weight impacts the length of time it takes to burn a calorie goal.
Use the table below to see how long you need to sleep to burn 100, 200, or 500 calories.
FAQ
How many calories do you burn sleeping?
The average person burns 68-91 calories per hour, or 544-728 calories for 8 hours of sleep. You weight is an important factor in how many calories you burn while sleeping. A 150-pound (68kg) person burns 68 calories per hour sleeping (544 in 8 hours). A 200-pound (98.1kg) person burns 91 calories per hour (728 in 8 hours).
Why do you burn calories while you sleep?
Your body is always consuming energy. While you sleep your heart is pumping, your hair and nails are growing, and your brain is active with dreams.
As you sleep, your body is still “on” and burning calories. Just not as many as you do as you go about your day.
How many calories do you burn laying in bed?
You burn slightly more calories laying awake in bed than you do sleeping. Laying awake in bed burns about 37% more calories than sleeping.
How long do you have to sleep to burn 500 calories?
Most people need to sleep 5 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours to burn 500 calories.
Sources and External Resources
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, Meckes N, Bassett Jr DR, Tudor-Locke C, Greer JL, Vezina J, Whitt-Glover MC, Leon AS. The Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide. Healthy Lifestyles Research Center, College of Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University. Retrieved May 11, 2015, from the World Wide Web.
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/ - Arizona State University Healthy Lifestyles Research Center – Compendium of Physical Activities – Inactivity & 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities Reference List Category 7 – Inactivity Quiet – provides MET values for different types of inactivity such as sleeping.
- “Energy expenditure during sleep in men and women: evaporative and sensible heat losses” by Garby, Kurzer, Lammert, and Nielsen – published paper detailing consumption of calories while sleeping.
- Learn about “MET” and the compendium of physical activities from Arizona State University, University or South Carolina, and Wikipedia. There is a summary of general physical activities defined by intensity from the CDC and the Harvard School of Public Health.
- Recommendations on physical activity for health from the Harvard School of Public Health and the WHO.
- Learn about the health benefits of proper sleep with “Importance of Sleep: Six reasons not to scrimp on sleep” by Harvard Health Publishing, “10 Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep” by VeryWellHealth, and “Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep” by WebMD.
- Learn to sleep better with “8 secrets to a good night’s sleep” by Harvard Health Publishing, “Sleep tips: 6 steps to better sleep” by the Mayo Clinic, and “A Good Night’s Sleep” by the National Institute on Aging.