Most healthy adults spend about 20–25% of their total sleep time in REM sleep , which works out to roughly 90–120 minutes of REM during a 7–8 hour night.

Ideal REM percentage by age

  • Adults (18–64 years): Around 20–25% of total sleep is considered normal and healthy.
  • Older adults: REM sleep usually declines with age , so a somewhat lower percentage is common, even if total sleep time is adequate.
  • Teens: Often still land around 20–25% REM , but total sleep needs are higher, so their absolute REM minutes are greater.
  • Infants: Can spend up to about 50% of their sleep in REM , reflecting intense brain development.

How that looks in hours

If you sleep:

  • 6 hours: 20–25% REM ≈ 1.2–1.5 hours of REM.
  • 7 hours: 20–25% REM ≈ 1.4–1.75 hours of REM.
  • 8 hours: 20–25% REM ≈ 1.5–2 hours of REM.

Many guides and sleep trackers use this same 20–25% REM range as a practical benchmark for “normal” adult REM sleep.

Quick context: other stages

A typical healthy adult night often breaks down roughly like this:

  • Light sleep (Stage 1–2): About 45–55% of the night.
  • Deep sleep: Around 13–25% of the night.
  • REM sleep: About 20–25% of the night.

All stages matter, but REM is especially tied to memory, learning, and emotional processing.

If your REM is outside that range

  • Consistently much lower than 20%: Can be linked with fragmented sleep, certain medications, untreated sleep apnea, or heavy alcohol use. (General clinical guidance; patterns discussed in sleep health resources.)
  • Consistently much higher than 25–30%: Sometimes appears when you’re sleep-deprived overall , as your body “rebounds” into more REM, or in certain sleep disorders.

If your tracker shows unusual REM patterns and you also feel very tired, moody, or foggy during the day, it’s worth discussing with a healthcare or sleep specialist, especially if it continues for several weeks.

TL;DR: For most adults, aiming for about one-fifth to one-quarter of your nightly sleep in REM (20–25%) is a solid, evidence‑aligned target.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.