How much sleep do babies need? Healthy sleep habits and a happy baby sleep schedule and guide
According to physiologists, a child's ability to fall asleep easily and enjoy deep sleep is determined by genetics (25%-50%) and the sleep habits shaped by their parents (50%-75%). While you can't change genetics, you can significantly influence your baby's sleep through your habits and approach. Understanding the stages of your child's physiological development and their evolving sleep needs will help parents know where to focus their efforts to help ensure their baby has sound and healthy sleep.From birth to 2 months
A newborn’s nervous system and brain are still maturing. At this age, babies sleep almost all the time, often resting with the breast or pacifier in their mouths. The norm for this age is up to 20 hours of sleep per day. After 2–3 weeks, about 20% of babies experience colic and evening abdominal pain, leading to periods of crying lasting up to two hours. By 10–11 p.m., the pain often subsides and babies fall asleep.
Unsettled sleep is perfectly normal for newborns, and there’s no need to enforce a schedule just yet. The main goal for babies under 2 months is to support healthy nervous system development, and sleep is essential to this process. Support your baby's sleep, and don't hesitate to hold, rock, or comfort them during this time.
Important! If your child was born prematurely, be sure to count their age from their estimated due date (EDD). Babies born before their due date will reach developmental milestones outside the womb, so recommendations are based on their corrected age.
From 2 months to 4 months
At this stage, many parents notice a developing pattern in their baby's sleep-wake cycle. If you don't see it yet, now is an ideal time to gently guide your baby toward predictable routines. Use the 10 secrets of helping your baby sleep to encourage calm, restful periods for your child.
Important! Follow the three rules of “no” for a healthy sleep environment: NO light, NO heat, NO sound.
NO light: Even during daytime naps, use dim lighting to help produce melatonin and set your baby’s internal clock to “sleep mode,” creating a strong habit of sleeping soundly in darkness at night.
NO heat: Babies need a cool, humid environment for deep sleep. The ideal temperature is no higher than 21°C (about 70°F). If your child is ill, dress them warmly and lower the room temperature to 18–19°C (64–66°F). In this environment, breathing is easy, their sleep is deep, and their brain gets plenty of oxygen.
NO sound: Keep sounds muted. Baby sleep time is not for loud conversations or having the radio or television on. However, total silence is not necessary; an unexpected noise can startle a sleeping baby. Gentle background noises, soft songs, lullabies, or recordings of nature sounds (white noise) provide a comforting backdrop.
Schedule: Babies at this age typically sleep 14–16 hours per day: 9–10 hours at night with feedings every 2–3 hours, and 3–5 daytime naps lasting 40–90 minutes each.
From 4 to 6 months
Around 4 months, your baby goes through a major sleep transition, developing a more adult-like sleep cycle. This can lead to brief disruptions in sleep around 4–5 months, but sleep will soon improve, leading to longer stretches at night and 2–3 daily naps. If you want to teach your child to fall asleep independently, now is an ideal time to start. It’s also a good stage to establish bedtime routines.
Rituals: Introduce calming bedtime rituals to signal sleep time, help your baby’s biological clock adjust, and create healthy habits for years to come. Bathing, gentle massage, changing into pajamas, putting on a fresh diaper, feeding, rocking, singing lullabies, and giving a favorite soft toy as a sleep companion are all valuable rituals.
Advice:
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Schedule: At this age, children sleep about 12–14 hours a day. Nighttime sleep lasts 10–11 hours, and total day sleep is about 3 hours, with naps averaging about one hour each. If your child doesn’t nap much during the day, you can put them to bed earlier at night for a better rest. Night feeding typically occurs 2–3 times a night, and by 8 months, some babies drop to one nighttime feeding.
So, your child's daily sleep schedule might look like this:
7:00 am – wake up
8:30 am – 1st nap
12:00 pm – 2nd nap
3:00 pm – 3rd nap
7:30/8:00 pm – bedtime.
Learning new skills (like crawling or sitting) and adjusting from three to two daytime naps may temporarily disrupt night sleep. Your child may wake up more frequently and take longer to settle back to sleep. This period usually lasts 7–14 days. Be patient and stick to your usual bedtime routine.
During this phase, your child’s emotional and language development accelerates. Most children will stop needing nighttime feeds and begin sleeping through the night.
Schedule: Children need around 13–14 total hours of sleep. Day naps add up to 2–3 hours, and around 12–14 months, children often transition to a single, longer lunchtime nap (2–2.5 hours). This will shift your child’s daily routine, but after 3–4 weeks, the new schedule will settle in.
Tip! The optimal wake window between the last nap and bedtime is 3.5–4 hours—enough time to play and unwind but not long enough for overtiredness, which often leads to fussiness and bedtime struggles.
The key to an easy transition to a single daytime nap is an early bedtime. Start with a 7:00 pm bedtime and initially schedule the nap around 11:00 am–12:00 pm, then gradually move it to 1:00 pm.
Good, restorative sleep is crucial for both emotional and physical well-being, for adults and children alike. The family’s atmosphere often reflects the quality of a child’s sleep; parents who are repeatedly sleep deprived are less patient and calm. That’s why setting a consistent sleep routine and instilling healthy sleep habits is vital not just for your child’s development, but for creating a peaceful family environment.