Dakota Johnson says she sleeps a 'minimum of 10 hours a night'

She’s big on beauty sleep

Dakota Johnson can sleep up to 14 hours a night. Image: Getty

While most of us aim for eight hours of sleep per night (on a good day), actor Dakota Johnson is clocking at least 10 hours of shut-eye a night. But is sleeping this much actually good for you? We asked sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo to weigh in.

Dakota Johnson is one of our favourite celebrities for many reasons. 

For one, she has a perfect fringe. Her curtain bangs to full-fringe pipeline was a joy to behold, and she rocks a heavy bang like no other. 

She’s also dating Chris Martin and, like the classy icon she is, has struck up a firm friendship with his ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, who she’s often photographed alongside. Recently, Paltrow even posted a photo of the two of them holding hands. 

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Johnson was also part of one of the most iconic moments in pop culture of recent years, namely calling Ellen Degeneres out for lying when she said she wasn’t invited to Dakota’s birthday party on her own show. This was made even more enjoyable by the discovery that instead of going to the birthday party, Ellen was actually at a baseball game with George W. Bush. Incredible.

So it's safe to say that when Dakota Johnson speaks, we listen. 

That being said, she’s not always the most relatable of celebrities. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she’s a textbook nepobaby – and good for her! But sometimes we’re reminded that Johnson is of a different ilk to the rest of us. 

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Johnson was asked to shed some light on her routine, and her answers did not disappoint. 

"Sleep is my number one priority in life," she said. "I'm not functional if I get less than ten. I can easily go 14 hours."

She also doesn’t have a regular wakeup time, and tweaks her sleep routine based on her plans for the day. 

"If I’m not working, if I have a day off on a Monday, then I will sleep as long as I can," she said.

Will she sleep til 7am, 10am or 12pm? Who knows – but if she hasn’t clocked 10 hours minimum, she’s shutting her eyes again. 

In addition to banking hours and hours of beauty sleep, Jonson also says she works out five days a week, and enjoys Pilates, weight training and hot yoga. 

She’s also big into meditation: "I do transcendental meditation," she says. "I’ve been really into breathwork recently and that’s been helping me a lot with anxiety."

She’s also a massive fan of baths, which she says could happen at any point of the day, at just a moment’s notice. 

"I will get in a bathtub at any moment, any time of the day," she says. "If in the middle of the day, I'm like, 'Oh God, what is this world?' I'll get in the bathtub. I find water really grounding."

Safe to say, Johnson is living the sort of life that most people do not have access to. Banking over 10 hours of sleep a night, plus also having time to work, work out, and bathe? It’s a routine laden with luxuries, which we love for her. 

But what we’re really curious about is whether this routine is actually one worth pursuing. 

Sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo tells Body+Soul, “10 hours is great for athletes, teens and pregnant or breastfeeding women... not so much every day adults!”

Experts generally recommend between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, according to the National Institute of Health. So if you find you’re in need of more than that, it could be indicative of a few things, says Arezzolo. 

Johnson could be “one of the few people genetically predisposed to require more sleep. 95 per cent of the adult population needs seven-to-nine hours of sleep per night, but there is a 5 per cent that needs less and more,” she says. 

Alternatively, it may be that Johnson’s sleep quality is poor – “she may be sleeping lightly, not getting into deep sleep or REM sleep,” says Arezzolo, so she's making up for it with quantity. Or, maybe she's sleeping inefficiently on other nights. However, Arezzolo says these options are unlikely – especially given Johnson’s quotes around the matter. 

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to sleeping up to 14 hours a night, the expert says that's pushing it. 

“14 hours is typically too many hours of sleep on a regular basis, and could lead to fatigue, lethargy and sleepiness,” says Arezzolo. 

Generally, sleep is impacted by the following factors, which can lead to more sleep being needed to function at a regular level. 

• Previous periods of insufficient sleep
• Feelings of depression
• Burnout 
• Stress
• Intense exercise 

We hope Johnson isn’t suffering from any of those things – so maybe she’s just one of those 5 per cent of people who need more sleep than the rest of us?

Originally published as Dakota Johnson says she sleeps a 'minimum of 10 hours a night'