Age |
Average
sleep
per 24 hours |
Sleep
patterns |
Newborns |
16 to 20 hours |
- 1- to 4-hour sleep periods followed by 1- to 2-hour awake periods
- Newborns needs as much sleep during the day as they do at night.
|
Infants
(up to 1 year) |
Total of 14 to 15 hours at 4 months, and 13 to 14 hours at 6 months |
- 3- to 4-hour sleep periods the first three months, 6- to 8-hour sleep periods between four and six months
- Day/night differentiation develops between six weeks and three months
- At nine months, about three-quarters will "settle," and sleep through the night
- 2 to 4 hours of naptime, divided between two naps a day
|
Toddlers
(1 to 3 years) |
12 hours, total |
- Night sleep plus one nap of 1.5 to 3.5 hours
|
Preschool
(3 to 6 years) |
11 to 12 hours |
- Napping declines, usually ending around 5 years of age.
|
Middle Childhood
(6 to 12 years) |
10 to 11 hours |
- Low levels of daytime sleepiness
- Increased discrepancy between school night and non-school night sleep amounts
|
Adolescence
(12 years and older) |
9 hours are ideal, but 7 hours are more typical |
- Sleep schedule often becomes irregular.
- Puberty changes the circadian phases (sleeping-and-waking cycles), making bedtimes later and rise times earlier.
|
