What does a human life add up to?
A life is about 73 years, and a startling amount of it is already committed before you choose anything.
Almost exactly a full human lifetime
73 yr is longer than 5 of the 6 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| commuting | 2.73 yr | 26.8× | Around 2.7 years |
| eating | 4.44 yr | 16.5× | Roughly 4.5 years |
| working | 26.3 yr | 2.78× | About 26 years of 40-hour weeks over 40 years |
| looking at a screen | 41.2 yr | 1.77× | At today’s rates, about 40 years |
| asleep | 69.7 yr | 1.05× | About 26 years at 8 hours a night |
| a full human lifetime | 73.5 yr | 0.993× | The global average, 73.4 years |
Worth knowing
- At eight hours a night, a 73-year life includes 24 years of sleep — a third of everything.
- Average screen time across all devices now exceeds seven hours a day in many countries, which over a lifetime rivals sleep.
Frequently asked
What is average life expectancy?
73.4 years globally in 2023, ranging from about 55 in the lowest-income countries to 85 in Japan and Switzerland.
Are these time-use figures reliable?
They are averages from national time-use surveys, which are self-reported. Sleep and work are measured well; screen time is measured badly and is probably underestimated.