Newborns sleep about 16 hours a day, but that number drops steadily as babies grow. By 4 to 12 months, most infants need 12 to 16 hours of total sleep, and toddlers between 12 and 24 months need 11 to 14 hours including naps. Those ranges are wide because every baby is different, and the way sleep is distributed across the day changes dramatically in the first year.
Sleep Needs by Age
In the first three months, babies average around 16 hours of sleep per day, split roughly evenly between day and night. There’s no real schedule yet. Newborns wake, feed, and fall back asleep in short cycles around the clock, with wake windows lasting only one to two hours at a time. Their stomachs are tiny, so hunger drives most of these wake-ups regardless of whether it’s 2 p.m. or 2 a.m.
Between 4 and 12 months, total sleep needs dip slightly to 12 to 16 hours per day. More importantly, sleep starts consolidating into longer nighttime stretches with two or three daytime naps. Wake windows gradually lengthen too. A 5-to-7-month-old can typically stay awake for 2 to 4 hours between naps, and by 7 to 10 months that stretches to 2.5 to 4.5 hours.
From 12 to 24 months, toddlers need 11 to 14 hours including naps. Most transition from two naps to one somewhere around 14 to 18 months, and that single nap usually lasts one to two hours in the early afternoon.
When Babies Start Sleeping Through the Night
Many parents assume babies should sleep through the night by six months. The reality is messier than that. A Canadian study of nearly 400 infants found that at 6 months, 38% still couldn’t go six hours without waking, and 57% weren’t making it eight hours straight. Even at 12 months, 28% weren’t sleeping six continuous hours and 43% weren’t reaching eight.
Around 3 months, many babies begin settling into longer overnight stretches of 4 to 5 hours, which can feel like a major improvement for sleep-deprived parents. But true uninterrupted sleep often takes much longer to develop, and it’s not always linear. A baby who slept well at 4 months may start waking again at 6 months due to teething, developmental leaps, or separation anxiety.
Night Feeding and Sleep
Babies under 3 months feed at night the same way they feed during the day: on demand and frequently. By 3 months, many start spacing out their nighttime feedings, but how quickly night feeds drop off depends partly on whether a baby is breastfed or bottle-fed.
Bottle-fed babies may stop needing night feeds around 6 months. Breastfed babies often continue waking for at least one feeding until closer to 12 months. Breast milk digests faster than formula, so breastfed babies genuinely get hungry sooner. If your baby is older than 6 months and only falls back asleep while feeding, that pattern may be more about comfort than hunger, and you can start gently encouraging other ways of settling.
Why Babies Wake So Often
Half of a newborn’s sleep is spent in REM, the light, active sleep stage associated with brain development. Adults spend only about 20 to 25% of their sleep in REM. Because babies cycle through so much light sleep, they’re far more likely to wake between cycles. This isn’t a flaw in your baby’s sleep. REM sleep is critical for the rapid brain growth happening in the first year.
Infant sleep cycles are also shorter than adult ones. Where an adult might complete a full sleep cycle in 90 minutes, a baby’s cycle is considerably shorter, meaning more transitions between light and deep sleep and more opportunities to wake up.
Signs Your Baby Is Ready for Sleep
Catching the right sleep window makes a real difference. Babies who stay awake too long get a surge of cortisol and adrenaline that actually makes them harder to settle, not easier. An overtired baby often cries louder and more frantically than usual, becomes clingy, and may even start sweating from the stress hormone spike.
Early tiredness cues are subtler: turning away from stimulation, rubbing eyes or ears, yawning, and staring off into space. If you’re seeing those signs, it’s time to start your wind-down routine. Waiting for the crying and fussiness means you’ve likely already passed the ideal window, and getting the baby to sleep will take longer and result in a shorter, less restful nap.
Tracking your baby’s wake windows by age can help you anticipate sleepiness before the overtired signs kick in. A 2-month-old who’s been awake for 90 minutes is probably ready. A 6-month-old might do fine for three hours. These windows vary by child, but they’re a useful starting framework.
Safe Sleep Setup
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing babies on their backs for every sleep, in their own sleep space with no other people. That space should be a crib, bassinet, or portable play yard with a firm, flat mattress and a fitted sheet. Nothing else goes in: no loose blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or crib bumpers.
Avoid letting babies sleep on couches, armchairs, or in seating devices like swings or car seats (unless the car seat is actually in a moving car). These surfaces increase the risk of suffocation because a baby’s head can slump forward and block their airway. Even if your baby falls asleep in a car seat during a drive, transferring them to a flat surface when you arrive is the safer choice.