Simple guide to how much sleep your child should be getting

Getting children to sleep is famously one of the biggest challenges in parenting, which can become particularly exhausting if it starts impacting your own rest – or even just the chance to unwind in the evening.

Every person is affected differently by sleep (or the lack of), meaning it’s hard to know what’s really needed.

But experts have created a helpful guide to show parents how much sleep children should be getting, even if just as a general suggestion.

Published back in 2021 by MedicineNet, the guide was shared by experts Karthik Kumar, MBBS, and Pallavi Suyog Uttekar, MD, who explained: “Each child is different, and the amount of sleep a child needs varies depending on certain factors, including their age.”

Iuliia Bondarenko/Pixabay

The ‘general guidelines’, which originally come from the National Sleep Foundation, show the number of required hours of sleep according to age, with a breakdown of daytime naps alongside sleep at night.

1 week

• Daytime: 8 hours (4 naps)
• Nighttime: 8 hours 30 minutes
• Total: 16 hours and 30 minutes

4 weeks

• Daytime: 7 hours (3 naps)
• Nighttime: 8 hours 30 minutes
• Total: 15 hours and 30 minutes

3 months

• Daytime: 5 hours (3 naps)
• Nighttime: 10 hours
• Total: 15 hours

6 months

• Daytime: 3 hours 15 minutes (2 naps)
• Nighttime: 11 hours
• Total: 14 hours and 15 minutes

9 months

• Daytime: 3 hours (2 naps)
• Nighttime: 11 hours
• Total: 14 hours

12 months

• Daytime: 2 hours 30 minutes (2 naps)
• Nighttime: 11 hours 15 minutes
• Total: 13 hours and 45 minutes

18 months

• Daytime: 2 hours 15 minutes (1 nap)
• Nighttime: 11 hours and 15 minutes
• Total: 13 hours and 30 minutes

2 years

• Daytime: 2 hours (1 nap)
• Nighttime: 11 hours
• Total: 13 hours

3 years

• Daytime: 1 hour and 30 minutes (1 nap)
• Nighttime: 10 hours and 30 minutes
• Total: 12 hours

4 years

• Nighttime: 11 hours 30 minutes

5 years

• Nighttime: 11 hours

6 years

• Nighttime: 10 hours 45 minutes

7 years

• Nighttime: 10 hours 30 minutes

8 years

• Nighttime: 10 hours 15 minutes

9 years

• Nighttime: 10 hours

10 years

• Nighttime: 9 hours 45 minutes

11 years

• Nighttime: 9 hours 30 minutes

12 years

• Nighttime: 9 hours 15 minutes

13 years

• Night-time: 9 hours 15 minutes

14 years

• Nighttime: 9 hours

15 years

• Nighttime: 8 hours 45 minutes

16 years

• Nighttime: 8 hours 30 minutes

17 years

• Nighttime: 8 hours 15 minutes

18 years

• Nighttime: 8 hours 15 minutes

emrah özaras/Pixabay

The authors explained that sleep is the ‘foundation’ of the healthy development of young children, saying most people will spend about 40 percent of their childhood asleep.

They added: “While the number of sleep hours does matter, what is even more important is how well-rested a child appears and behaves.

“It’s important to talk to your pediatrician if you suspect your child is showing signs of sleep deprivation.”