How much sleep does a baby need?
One of the biggest talking points among new parents is how much their babies sleep.
Newborns
While certain newborns will live up to the old adage of ‘sleeping like a baby’ and sleep through the night pretty much straight away, others will take a bit longer to settle into a routine and might decide that it’s much more fun to be nocturnal. Sleep is something that we often take for granted before we have children, but suddenly when we find ourselves deprived of it on a daily basis it’s all we can think or talk about! Here is a brief guide to how much sleep a baby needs for the first three years of life.
Of course, each newborn is different, but in those first few weeks of life babies tend to sleep for between 16 and 19 hours a day, generally in two-four hour stretches. In these early days, it’s hard for babies to tell the difference between day and night; this, coupled with the fact that newborns have small tummies so need to eat little and often, can lead to a few sleepless nights!
Some newborns will sleep for longer periods at a time which is fine, unless perhaps they are premature or of a low birth weight, in which case you may be advised by your health visitor to wake them more regularly for feeds. By the age of three months, many babies will have settled into more of a routine and, with any luck, will be sleeping for up to six hours a night.
Three-six months
Between the ages of three and six months, as a general rule, babies will be sleeping for approximately 14 hours a day, which may be distributed between ten hours at night and four hours during the day, although don’t expect to have an uninterrupted night.
Six to 12 months
When your baby is aged between six and 12 months, you may start to think about cutting down his daytime naps to two naps of approximately two hours. If you’re very lucky, your baby may now be sleeping through the night, for up to 11-12 hours - if you put your baby to bed at 7pm, he might even sleep through to 7am! This will seem like bliss, but, as stated above, babies are individuals so don’t be too demoralised if your baby still wakes at night. Also, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that if you put your baby to bed late at night he will be more likely to sleep in late. In fact, the opposite may be true. If your baby doesn’t go to bed until 10 or 11pm, he may well be overtired and have a restless and disturbed night’s sleep, so try to establish a sensible bedtime routine in the early months which sees your baby in bed by 7pm.
12-18 months
Between the ages of 12 and 18 months, you may decide to reduce your baby’s naps still further, especially if you find that he’s still waking in the night. As every child is different, there is no hard and fast rule as to how long your one-year-old should sleep for, but you may decide that one long afternoon nap of two hours is sufficient.
Two years
When your child reaches the age of two and the toddler years are fully upon you, you may find that he is resistant to going to bed as there are too many other exciting things for him to do. You will probably need to be firm and establish some boundaries. If you find that your toddler is still waking in the night and getting up at 6am, our feature on Coping with an early riser will be helpful. By the age of two, your child should definitely need no more than one nap during the day of between one and two hours. If you have a bedtime routine firmly in place, he will also with luck be sleeping through the night for a period of up to 12 hours!
Three years
By the age of three, your child should need approximately 12 hours’ sleep. You may decide to cut out your child’s daytime rest altogether or, alternatively, reduce it to one hour-long nap. You can expect your three-year-old to sleep for about ten hours a night. The benefits of establishing a bedtime routine early on should not be underestimated; the calmer and more settled your child is before going to sleep, the more likely he is to sleep through, so avoid anything that might make him too hyper or over-excited before he goes to bed. Watch our video on bedtime routines for more information.
The following chart should serve only as a rough guide. Remember: every child’s different, so the amount of sleep needed will differ from baby to baby.
Age: Night Day Total hours of sleep
Birth - 3 months Spread between night and day 16 – 19 hours
3 - 6 months 10 hours 4 hours 14 hours
6 - 12 months 10 hours 2 - 4 hours 12-14 hours
12-18 months 11 hours 1-2 hours 10-13 hours
18-24 months 12 hours 1 hour 13 hours
2-3 years 12 hours 1 hour (optional) 12 hours
Sleep diaries
You may also find it helpful to keep a sleep diary as a record of your baby’s sleep patterns. This is literally a chart in which you can record everything from how long it takes your baby to settle to how many times he wakes in the night, how long he wakes for each time and what time he wakes up in the morning.
This might be a useful guide for you, as it will help you to get a clearer picture of your baby’s sleep patterns. You can then talk to your health visitor about any worries or concerns that you may have. The chart might consist of seven columns across for days of the week and twenty four rows down for the hours. Colour in the hours that your baby is asleep during the day and night. You could also use the diary as a way of charting the times when your baby is feeding.
The information on this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.
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Last Modified: 08/07/2008