How Many Calories Do You Burn While Sleeping?
By WellnessVigor · Updated October 10, 2026 · 6 min read
Even when you are fast asleep, your body is busy. Your heart beats, your lungs breathe, your brain sorts memories and your cells repair themselves. All of that uses energy.
So how many calories do you actually burn while sleeping? Here is a simple way to estimate your own number, and what it means for weight loss.
Quick answer
Most adults burn roughly 50 to 75 calories per hour while sleeping, or about 400 to 600 calories over 8 hours. Your exact number depends mostly on your body size, muscle mass, age and sex. It is close to your basal metabolic rate (BMR) divided by 24, multiplied by the hours you sleep.
The calories you burn during sleep are close to your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the energy your body needs at complete rest. Research suggests sleeping metabolic rate is about the same as, or slightly lower than, BMR.
- Find your BMR with our BMR calculator.
- Divide by 24 to get calories per hour.
- Multiply by the hours you sleep.
Example 1: a 40-year-old woman, 165 cm and 70 kg, has a BMR of about 1,370 calories a day (Mifflin-St Jeor equation). That is about 57 calories an hour, or roughly 450 calories over 8 hours.
Example 2: a 40-year-old man, 178 cm and 85 kg, has a BMR of about 1,770 calories a day, about 74 calories an hour, or roughly 590 calories over 8 hours.
What affects how many calories you burn at night
- Body weight: a larger body burns more energy.
- Muscle mass: muscle uses more energy than fat, even at rest.
- Age: resting metabolism tends to fall slowly with age, partly due to muscle loss.
- Sex: men usually have more muscle and a higher BMR.
- Sleep stage: the brain is more active in REM sleep, so energy use varies through the night.
- Room temperature: a cool room may slightly increase energy use. See does sleeping in a cold room help weight loss?
Sleep well, eat less, lose more. The 14-Day Sleep Reset helps you build the deep, regular sleep that makes weight loss easier.
Does sleeping more burn more calories?
Technically, an extra hour of sleep burns about the same as an extra hour lying still awake. Staying awake and active burns more. But sleep matters for weight loss in a different way: short sleep raises hunger and cravings and makes you eat more, which easily outweighs the small calories burned by staying up. Read can poor sleep make you gain weight?
How to raise the calories you burn at rest
- Build muscle with strength training 2 to 3 times a week.
- Eat enough protein. See how much protein you need to lose weight.
- Move more during the day. Walking adds up. See how many steps a day you need.
- Avoid extreme diets, which can lead to muscle loss and a slower metabolism.
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do you burn sleeping 8 hours?
Do you burn more calories sleeping or sitting?
Do heavier people burn more calories while sleeping?
Can I lose weight just by sleeping more?
Sources
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. See our Medical Disclaimer.