Sleep norms for children 1–12 months old: how much should infants sleep up to one year

New parents, especially at the birth of their first baby, do not know what time they should put their infant to bed. But biological rhythms begin to form from 0 months and normalize by 1 year of life. Today we’ll talk about the features of the baby’s day and night routine. Let's look at a table with sleep norms for children by month. Let's find out how much time newborns should sleep from 0 to 2 months, infants 3-4 and 5-6 months, as well as babies 7-8 and 9-12 months. Let's figure out what to do if a violation of the regime occurs and the child does not sleep well. Those interested can leave their comments on the forum.

Sleep as the most important body function

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made adequate sleep one of the most important criteria for health. The decision is based on research conducted in various parts of the world. According to scientists, following normal sleep patterns improves the functioning of most body systems:

• memory is stimulated;
• mental abilities increase;
• metabolic processes improve;
• concentration of attention increases;
• the psycho-emotional background is stabilized;
• the chance of developing heart and vascular diseases is reduced;
• The body's natural defenses are strengthened.

Regular lack of sleep can have dangerous consequences.

Attention! A somnologist treats insomnia (insomnia). Contacting other specialists may be necessary if the failure occurs due to somatic diseases.

Reasons for disrupted sleep patterns in a 12 month old child

Sometimes you hear that a child simply does not give in to the regime or strives to break it at the first opportunity. Your task is to find the cause of the child’s sleep disorder at 12 months in time and neutralize it.

• Painful conditions. By this time, most children already have a mouth full of teeth, but they continue to grow, and the gums, accordingly, ache. In addition to these problems, you can also encounter already forgotten “tummies”, prickly heat and even bruises and abrasions, which, of course, haunt active kids.
• Emotional leaps. Babies always subtly sense their mother’s mood - try not to get nervous over trifles, not to quarrel with loved ones, and not to raise your voice. Otherwise, the child’s vague anxiety will come back to haunt you with restless sleep at night, constant awakenings and capricious crying.
• Physiological factors include uncomfortable sleeping conditions: perhaps the room is too hot or cold, your baby is uncomfortable on a hard bed, or you decide to skip a bath. All this can also become a reason for disrupting a child’s sleep pattern, as well as simple neglect of the routine.
• Psychological factors include disruption of the usual rhythm - it may seem to you that the baby no longer needs the sleep ritual, but this is not at all true. Try to maintain it, repeat it daily and over time it will become your warmest, most personal, shared memory.

Good dreams to you and your little ones!

Sleep norms in childhood

The child's sleep and wakefulness standards are approximate indicators given for guidance purposes. There is no need to forcefully “adjust” the schedule. If the baby feels good, falling asleep and waking up 1-2 hours earlier than expected, then there is no need to worry. It is advisable to consult a doctor if significant deviations and regular awakenings are detected. A table of sleep norms for children will help you navigate:

Total number of hours. The time spent on daytime and night sleep is calculated. For comparison, an infant can sleep 4-8 times a day, and a 3-year-old child no more than 2 times.

Babies up to 18 months

Due to the body’s adaptation to the external environment and active development, newborns take about 20 hours to sleep in 4-8 approaches. The period of wakefulness varies from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours. Such a long rest is typical for a baby up to 6 months.

The sleep norm for children after a year is rapidly decreasing. By 18 months, a more stable schedule is developed. A total of 14 hours are spent on rest. At lunchtime, a quiet hour begins, equal to 60-120 minutes. The rest of the time is taken up by the period of wakefulness.

Children 1.5-3 years old

From 1.5 to 3 years, the same schedule is maintained, but the rest time is slightly reduced. 1 daytime nap (1.5-2 hours) and 1 night nap (10-12 hours) takes a total of 12-14 hours.

Due to maturation and active development, this age category has its own advantages and disadvantages. A rest schedule close to that of an adult is considered a plus. Babies go to bed around 21 and fall asleep no later than 11. The downside of a more conscious period is the reluctance to sleep at lunchtime, which can throw off the child’s daily biorhythms.

Preschoolers 3-7 years old

Shortly before school, children sleep for about 10-12 hours. An hour's lunchtime nap is relevant for the lower grades. Extra rest helps your child regain strength and adjust to a new schedule.

The preschool period is dangerous due to lack of sleep. Children become more active.

Advice! Due to the added extra load due to the imminent entry into school, the likelihood of a disruption in daily biorhythms and the manifestation of signs of insomnia increases. Parents need to ensure that bedtime and wake-up times meet the standards.

Baby's sleep at 1-2 months of life

A child aged 1 to 2 months should sleep 18 hours a day . Waking time increases slightly, and sleep time decreases. While awake, the child shows more interest in the world around him: he begins to carefully study his mother’s face, his rattles, which adults show him, and his crib. But since the baby gets tired quickly, a child’s sleep at 1-2 months of age still takes quite a lot of time. At this age, the baby adheres to the sequence of wakefulness - eating - sleep. If you follow this regimen, you can set feeding at a certain time. If the baby eats formula, then feeding is considered mandatory after 3–3.5 hours. It is somewhat more difficult to establish a specific regimen when breastfeeding, but usually by 1–2 months, mother and baby develop their own feeding routine, which should be followed in the future. At this age, as a rule, children begin to sleep more at night. A baby can survive a maximum of 5-6 hours without food at night.

In the second month of the baby's life, coordination begins to develop, the baby can examine people and objects. Sleep can be affected by colic, which quite often resolves towards the end of this month, resulting in the baby sleeping more peacefully.

Night sleep patterns in different age groups under 18 years of age

With age, the need for daytime sleep disappears. Children switch to a “disposable” rest mode. The table of standards looks like this:

Only students in grades 1-3 sleep during lunch, which is associated with a sharp increase in mental and physical stress.
Daytime sleep will allow the body to quickly get used to the new rhythm and not cause harm to health. Attention! From the age of 10, quiet time is completely abolished. Children are already accustomed to school and are quite capable of fully recovering overnight. The emphasis is on compliance with age standards, especially before exams and tests.

Baby's sleep at 5-6 months of age

For a 5-6 month old baby, sleep duration is slightly less and is 16 hours . The baby becomes more active, studies everything that catches his eye, as a result of which parents often have to deal with overstimulation, which can affect sleep. A child at 5-6 months of age can sleep for 10 hours at night, and the baby can wake up early in the morning. By this time, parents can already decide on the characteristics of the baby, which mode to give preference to, which can have a negative impact on his sleep.

Violation of standards: consequences

The child should go to bed and wake up strictly on schedule. Only small deviations from generally accepted norms are acceptable. If lack of sleep occurs regularly, then there is a high probability of developing complications. The following signs will help you recognize insomnia:

Advice! Timely measures taken will help you avoid the consequences. Parents should monitor the number of hours allocated for daytime and nighttime rest. If the schedule is fully followed, then the problem may lie in the lack of comfortable sleeping conditions.

What time should newborn babies go to bed at night?

A hormone called melatonin is responsible for the sleep process.

Its production begins in the early evening and reaches a high concentration by midnight, when the baby is sleeping. A sharp decrease in melatonin is observed in the morning.

Melatonin promotes sleepiness when it gets dark outside. The vital processes of children’s bodies begin to slow down; falling asleep during this period will not be difficult.

Let's look at the norms for when children of different ages should go to rest:

1. The first months of life. From birth to 3 months, pediatricians recommend putting the child to bed at night at the usual time according to the schedule. At 2 months, the baby sleeps quite a lot, the number of hours reaches 17 units, while he wakes up for feeding and wakefulness.
2. From 3 to 6 months. The optimal bedtime is from 19 to 20 pm. At 4-5 months, the baby should rest until 7 am. Then it is important to follow the regime, avoiding overwork.
3. From six months to a year. Pediatricians consider the ideal time to be 19.00. At this age, the child sleeps twice or three times a day, but a gradual transition begins from three times a day to 2 times. The routine may go astray, and then the baby will begin to act up at night.

Regardless of the parents' waking schedule, the baby must adhere to the established schedule. For many children, 9 hours of rest is enough, others can get enough sleep in 12 hours.

When the mother missed the “sleep window,” the baby becomes overexcited, capricious, and cannot fall asleep for a long time at night.

Sleep in adolescents (13-18 years old)

What to expect?

It is a well-known fact that teenagers experience insufficient sleep. The average nightly sleep duration for teenagers ranges from 7 to 8 hours. Although the body's need for sleep in adolescence ranges from 9 to 10 hours. Teenagers experience sleep deprivation for many reasons:

• Changing the time you fall asleep. There is a shift in falling asleep at night from 21.00 to 23.00, which also means waking up later in the morning, so teenagers often do not get enough sleep

• School schedule. In many schools, school starts at 8.30 and if the school is located far away, the child has to get up very early.

• School duties. Homework, sports, and socializing with peers lead to late falling asleep.

As a result, many teenagers experience sleep deprivation, which affects many aspects of a teenager's life:

• Mood. Lack of sleep can lead to emotional lability, irritability and difficulties in communication (incontinence, explosiveness, aggressiveness). Your teen may become easily offended and have difficulty controlling their emotions.

• Behavior. Teenagers with sleep problems may engage in risky behavior: drinking alcohol, driving at high speed, and other dangerous forms of behavior.

• Learning problems. Insufficient sleep can lead to problems with attention, short-term memory, decision-making, and difficulty responding, all of which are important for the creative process.

• Academic progress. Research shows that academic performance in teens who don't get enough sleep is lower than that of teens who get enough sleep.

• Drowsiness while driving. Teens who don't get enough sleep may fall asleep at the wheel when driving. The greatest drowsiness occurs between 2.00 and 4.00 am, but can also occur during the day between 15.00 and 16.00 hours.

How to help your child have a good sleep?

• Stick to a stable daily routine. Teenagers should go to sleep and wake up at the same time. The duration of sleep should be sufficient for the child.

• Avoid sleeping long hours on weekends. While getting extra sleep on the weekends can help you recuperate, waking up later in the morning can make it more difficult to fall asleep on Sunday.

• A short nap during the day (30-45 minutes) helps a teenager regain strength.

• Limit watching TV shows, computer games, and listening to music.

• Avoid drinking alcohol, caffeine-containing products, and stimulant medications.

Contact your doctor if: - your child has breathing problems, namely noisy breathing, snoring, open-mouth breathing, daytime sleepiness; symptoms of hyperactivity, impaired attention and impulsivity (Questionnaire for parents of children with apnea);

- if your child has night terrors or unusual awakenings during sleep; - if your child cannot fall asleep for a long time (more than 40 minutes - 1 hour) or has problems with the quality of sleep that affect his daytime behavior - hyperactivity or drowsiness, morning headaches;

- if there is a suspicion of a disorder of the thyroid gland;

In all cases, a consultation with a somnologist and a polysomnographic study is necessary.

How to maintain healthy sleep in children under one year old

Leukocytes in the stool of a child under one year old - the norm, reasons for the increase

In order to help a child of the first year gradually get used to the daily routine, it is necessary to adhere to a certain rule: teach him to fall asleep and wake up at a certain time.

By putting your baby to bed in the evening, taking into account the recommendations of pediatricians, you can be sure that he will sleep better and be less capricious during the day:

• Use rituals for night and daytime sleep;
• Prepare bedding: a flat mattress, bedding made from natural fabrics, a diaper of the right size;

For proper sleep, it is important to properly prepare a sleeping place for a child.

• Maintain a comfortable temperature in the children's room of up to 20 degrees to avoid overheating the baby at night;
• Stick to a daily routine, since an infant who is accustomed to going to bed on a schedule sleeps more soundly and better at night;
• Do not shorten the daytime “quiet hour” for any reason, so as not to lead to overwork and restless night sleep;
• Be able to understand the “sleepy” signals that the baby gives when he wants to fall asleep. Put him to bed sleepy, not awake.

The main thing is that the mother must understand that existing age norms are subject to adjustment if it is not possible to form a sleep schedule for a particular baby on their basis. For children in whom agitation and restlessness are particularly strong and frequent, an individual wakefulness and rest schedule is drawn up, which may differ from generally accepted standards.