The Sleep Guide:
Sleep Schedules by age.
Following an age appropiate schedule is one of the key components of good sleep. As baby circadian rhythm matures, they will show the need for sleep during day and night at regular times. When sleep happens respecting these natural rhythms is when it’s most restorative.
While every child is different and have their unique sleep rhythm and needs there are certain moments of the day when they will most likely need to sleep.
Keep a curious approach and observe your baby. Are they ready for sleep?
Select schedule by age
4–6 Months Old
- Total hours of sleep:
12-15 hours - Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation
- Sleep Snapshot:
At this age your baby is naturally an early riser. And while putting them to bed later might sound like an easy solution, chances are they’ll still wake up between 6 and 8 and you’ll just have a restless baby on your hands. After a few months of unpredictable sleep by week 16 thanks to their circadian rhythm establishing, you’ll be able to organize their sleep and create a schedule that includes 3 naps for them throughout the day. One to two night feedings may still be needed at this stage, although some babies may drop them as early as two months.
- Expert tips:
- Be consistent. Week after week your baby will show more regularity in their nap’s schedule.
- Stay aware of the “awake window”. Your baby will be ready for their next nap after 2-2.5 hrs of being awake.
- Don’t be afraid of early bedtimes! If your baby skips the 3rd nap, they might even be ready for bedtime before 6pm for a while.
- Nap length:
50-60 minutes for each nap cycle
- 4-6 month Old Sample Sleep Schedule:
6-8am: Wake up
8:30-10am: Start 1st Nap
12-2pm: Start 2nd Nap
3-4pm: Start 3rd Nap
6-8pm: Bedtime
6-8 Month Old
- Total hours of sleep:
12-15 hours - Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation
- Sleep Snapshot:
By this age daytime sleep is more regular for your baby. This includes early rising and predictable naps. A later bedtime might sound like an easy solution to get your baby to sleep in, but chances are they’ll still wake up well before 8am. At this stage, babies still need three naps. Don’t be surprised if they slowly start fighting that third nap as time goes on. By 6 months many babies are ready to drop their night feeding, but some babies might still need a feed or two until they are 9 months old.
- Expert tips:
- Keep naps consistent. Daytime sleep is more routine by this age and your baby will benefit from naps at the same time every day.
- Stay aware of the “awake window”. Your baby will be ready for their next nap after 2.5-3 hours of activity.
- It might be time to drop the third nap. If your baby’s last nap is affecting bedtime or as your baby gets closer to 8 months you might want to start transitioning down to two.
- Don’t be afraid of early bedtimes! As baby transitions from three naps to two, an earlier bedtime is critical until they build up enough endurance to stay awake for more consecutive hours.
- Nap length:
Approximately 50-60 minutes for the first two naps. The 3rd nap might start at 1 hour but get as short as 15 minutes as your baby gets closer to transitioning to just two naps.
- 4-6 month Old Sample Sleep Schedule:
6-8am: Wake up
9-10am: Start 1st Nap
12-2pm: Start 2nd Nap
3-4pm: Start 3rd Nap
6-8pm: Bedtime
8-11 Month Old
- Total hours of sleep:
12-15 hours - Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation
- Sleep Snapshot:
At this age your baby is naturally rising early and has likely settled into two naps, down from three. Naps have become more routine and predictable, with sleep cycles starting to stretch out from 60 to 90 minutes as your baby matures. Don’t be tempted to push bedtime later; now that they’re taking less naps, your baby could be ready for bed as early as 6pm on some days! And even with a later bedtime, your baby will likely still wake up well before 8am. By 9 months many babies are done with night feedings for good.
- Expert tips:
- Keep naps consistent. Daytime sleep is routine by this age and your baby will benefit from naps at the same time every day.
- Stay aware of the “awake window”. After 3 hours of activity following baby’s 1st nap, they’ll be ready for nap #2. Baby will be ready for bed 3-3.5 hours after their second nap.
- Don’t be afraid of early bedtimes! If your baby's 2nd nap is 1-3pm, your baby may be ready for bedtime as early as 6pm.
- Work on self-soothing. If by 9 months your baby is still feeding during the night, they may need more independence to help them connect their sleep cycles. Check out our strategies to help baby learn to self-soothe on rB Magazine.
- Nap length:
A minimum of 60 minutes for each nap. As baby gets older their sleep cycle will lengthen to around 90 minutes.
- 8 -11 month Old Sample Sleep Schedule:
6-8am: Wake up
9-10am: Start 1st Nap
1-2pm: Start 2nd Nap
6-7pm: Bedtime
12-17 Month Old
- Total hours of sleep:
11-14 hours - Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation
- Sleep Snapshot:
By this age you’re probably used to the early rising prompted by your little one. And while naps have become more routine and predictable, your baby is about to approach yet another sleep transition. And this one is a biggie. Some time between 14 and 18 months your toddler will transition from two to just one long nap. Don’t be tempted to push bedtime later; now that they’re taking less naps, your baby could be ready for bed as early as 6pm on some days! And even with a later bedtime, your baby will likely still wake up well before 8am. By this stage your toddler should be done with night feedings for good.
- Expert tips:
- Keep naps consistent. Daytime sleep is routine by this age and your baby will benefit from naps at the same time every day.
- Stay aware of the “awake window”. After 3 hours of activity following baby’s 1st nap, they’ll be ready for nap #2. Baby will be ready for bed 4-5 hours after their second nap.
- Don’t be afraid of early bedtimes! If your toddler is a short napper and their nap is only from 12-1:30pm vs. 12-3pm, they may be ready for bedtime as early as 6pm.
- Work on self-soothing. If by this stage if your toddler is still feeding during the night, they may need more independence to help them connect their sleep cycles. Check out our strategies to help your toddler learn to self-soothe on rB Magazine.
- Nap length:
A minimum of 60 minutes for each nap. As baby gets older their sleep cycle will lengthen to around 90 minutes.
- 12-17 Month Old Sample Sleep Schedule (schedule based on time windows that naps should begin)
6-7am: Wake up
9-10am: 1st Nap
1-2pm: 2nd Nap
6-8pm: Bedtime
18-24 Month Old
- Total hours of sleep:
11-14 hours - Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation
- Sleep Snapshot:
By this age you’re probably used to the early rising prompted by your little one. And more likely than not, between 14 and 18 months they made the big transition to just one predictable and solid nap per day. Meaning you can plan for some fun active time before and after naps. Now that your toddler is getting older, you might be tempted to push bedtime later; but your child needs an early and predictable bedtime now more than ever. In fact, they could be ready for bed as early as 6pm on some days! And even with a later bedtime, they will likely still wake up well before 8am. By this stage your toddler should be done with night feedings for good.
- Expert tips:
- Keep naps consistent. Daytime sleep is routine by this age and your toddler will benefit from a nap at the same time every day.
- Stay aware of the “awake window”. After 4-5 hours of activity following your toddler’s nap, they’ll be ready for bedtime.
- Don’t be afraid of early bedtimes! If your toddler is a short napper and their nap is only from 12-1:30pm vs. 12-3pm, they may be ready for bedtime as early as 6pm.
- Work on helping your child fall asleep independently. If by this stage if your toddler is still feeding during the night, they may need more independence to help them connect their sleep cycles. Check out our strategies to help your toddler learn to self-soothe on Blinks Magazine.
- Nap length:
The length of your toddler’s nap may vary widely at this age and can last anywhere between 90 minutes and 3 hours. Naps should not go longer than that so you can preserve nighttime sleep.
- 12-17 Month Old Sample Sleep Schedule
(Remember that every child is different. Depending on your toddler’s wake up time and awake time tolerance, their nap start time may vary by an hour)
6-7am: Wake up
Noon: Nap
6-7pm: Bedtime
3 - 5 years old
- Total hours of sleep:
10-13 hours - Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation
- Sleep Snapshot:
By this stage your family has gone through many ebbs and flows of nap time stages. Once your child reaches age 3, yet another curveball will be thrown your way: the length and time of the afternoon nap might begin to affect bedtime. For some, these changes will create bedtime stalling behavior for your child, and may result in bedtime delays. It may be time to remove the nap to preserve an appropriate bedtime if your child doesn’t drop the nap on their own. You’ll figure out what’s best for your family and, just like with previous stages, staying consistent and reinforcing better sleep habits will get you right back on track in no time.
- Expert tips:
- Aim to have your preschooler down for the night before 9pm for better sleep.
- If your child is not napping anymore count 12hs from the time they woke up in the morning to put them to bed at night.
- Nap length:
- If your child is still napping Cap your child nap at 1-2hs to preserve a healthy bedtime. Allow around 5-6hs of awake time after nap ends
- If bedtime is usually a struggle, your child might be ready to stop napping all together.
- 3-5 Years Old Sample Sleep Schedule
(Remember that every child is different. Depending on your toddler’s wake up time and awake time tolerance, their nap start time may vary by an hour)
6-8 am: Wake up
6-8 pm: Bedtime (12 hs after they wake up in the morning)
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