Baby sleep schedule by age
How much sleep, how many naps and how long awake, for every age from 1 month to 2 years. Tap an age for a sample day with clock times.
Sleep by age
| Age | Sleep in 24 hours | Naps | Awake between sleeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 14 to 17 hours | several naps | 1 to 2 hours |
| 2 months | 14 to 17 hours | several naps | 1 to 2 hours |
| 3 months | 14 to 17 hours | 3 or 4 naps | 1.25 to 2.5 hours |
| 4 months | 12 to 16 hours | 3 or 4 naps | 1.25 to 2.5 hours |
| 5 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 or 3 naps | 2 to 4 hours |
| 6 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 or 3 naps | 2 to 4 hours |
| 7 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 or 3 naps | 2.5 to 4.5 hours |
| 8 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 or 3 naps | 2.5 to 4.5 hours |
| 9 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 or 3 naps | 2.5 to 4.5 hours |
| 10 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 naps | 3 to 6 hours |
| 11 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 naps | 3 to 6 hours |
| 12 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 naps | 3 to 6 hours |
| 13 months | 11 to 14 hours | 1 or 2 naps | 3.25 to 5.5 hours |
| 14 months | 11 to 14 hours | 1 or 2 naps | 3.25 to 5.5 hours |
| 15 months | 11 to 14 hours | 1 or 2 naps | 3.25 to 5.5 hours |
| 16 months | 11 to 14 hours | 1 or 2 naps | 3.25 to 5.5 hours |
| 17 months | 11 to 14 hours | 1 or 2 naps | 3.25 to 5.5 hours |
| 18 months | 11 to 14 hours | 1 or 2 naps | 3.75 to 5.5 hours |
| 2 years | 11 to 14 hours | 1 nap | 5.25 to 5.75 hours |
Sleep amounts are recommendations. Nap counts and awake times are rules of thumb, and healthy babies vary.
Where the numbers come from
Sleep in 24 hours: from 4 months, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine consensus statement of 2016, which the American Academy of Pediatrics supports. It gives no figure under 4 months, so the 14 to 17 hours shown for younger babies is the National Sleep Foundation's.
Awake between sleeps: up to 12 months, the ranges Cleveland Clinic publishes. Wake windows have not been tested in research. After 12 months no hospital publishes a table, and the figures are common practice among sleep consultants.
Naps: the ranges that Nemours and Nationwide Children's Hospital publish, and a 1995 study of 172 children by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. The month a nap is dropped differs from child to child.
How to use a schedule
- Start from the time your day begins and keep that time the same every day. Everything else follows from it.
- Treat the times as a guide. Fifteen minutes either way is fine.
- Watch for sleepy signs such as yawning, staring and fussing, and go by your baby when the clock and your baby disagree.
- Under 3 months there is no clock schedule. Follow a rhythm of feed, a short time awake and sleep.
Get a schedule built around your baby
Answer nine quick questions. Your plan sets nap times and bedtime from your baby's age and your own wake-up time, and gives you the steps for bedtime, night wakings and naps.
Related guides
Sources
- Paruthi S, et al. Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2016.
- Hirshkowitz M, et al. National Sleep Foundation sleep time duration recommendations. Sleep Health, 2015.
- Cleveland Clinic. What Are Baby Wake Windows? And How Long Should They Be? April 2024.
- Nemours KidsHealth. Sleep and Your Baby, by age; Naps.
- Nationwide Children's Hospital. Sleep in Infants; Sleep in Toddlers.
- Weissbluth M. Naps in children: 6 months to 7 years. Sleep, 1995.
General information for parents, not medical advice. Independent, not affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics or any medical body. Talk to your pediatrician about your baby's health.