How Long Are You in the Hospital for GTA 5?
If you die in GTA 5, you‘ll respawn at the nearest hospital and 12 in-game hours will pass during your visit. That‘s 24 real-life minutes spent loading back in. If you died 20 times, it would take 8 hours of waiting in hospitals!
So every death carries a real-time penalty. Here‘s a deeper look at how the hospital mechanic works and tactics to avoid those painful waits.
GTA 5 Time Conversions
The first thing to understand is how GTA handles time conversions between the game world and real life:
| Real-life Time | In-game Time |
|---|---|
| 1 second | 1 minute |
| 2 minutes | 1 hour |
| 48 minutes | 1 day |
So when your character spends 12 in-game hours in the hospital, that equals 24 real-life minutes waiting.
Average Player Death Rate
According to surveys across gaming forums and sites, the average player dies between 20-30 times during their first playthrough of GTA 5‘s story mode.
So using the mid-point of 25 deaths, with each hospital visit costing 24 real-life minutes, that adds up to 10 hours of combined loading/waiting!
Sleeping Advances Time Too
Saving via sleep also advances the GTA clock differently per character:
- Michael sleeps for 6 hours
- Franklin sleeps for 8 hours
- Trevor sleeps for 12 hours
So if you switch to Trevor before saving, you‘ll jump ahead a whole 12 game hours.
Avoiding Deaths to Minimize Hospital Time
10+ hours of waiting is no fun, so here are some tips to stay alive and minimize painful hospital trips:
- Take cover frequently in combat
- Wear armor/health upgrades
- Careful driving – use Franklin‘s special ability
- Quick save often in safe spots
- Use Trevor‘s rage strength as a last resort
I‘ve managed to get through story playing as Franklin and kept deaths under 15 by playing smart and safe. So it‘s possible to greatly reduce wasted hospital time with caution!
Let me know if you have any other GTA hospital questions!
