How much sleep do kids need?

Find out how much sleep your child needs, from newborns to 16 year olds.

1 week

4 weeks

3 months

6 months

9 months

12 months

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

7 years

8 years

9 years

10 years

11 years

12 years

13 years

14 years

15 years

16 years

How lack of sleep can affect children



These are hours of sleep based on age, as recommended by the Millpond Children's Sleep Clinic:

## 1 week

-   daytime: 8 hours
-   night time: 8 hours, 30 minutes


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## 4 weeks

-   daytime: 6 to 7 hours
-   night time: 8 to 9 hours


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## 3 months

-   daytime: 4 to 5 hours
-   night time: 10 to 11 hours


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## 6 months

-   daytime: 3 hours
-   night time: 11 hours


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## 9 months

-   daytime: 2 hours, 30 minutes
-   night time: 11 hours

## 12 months

-   daytime: 2 hours, 30 minutes
-   night time: 11 hours

## 2 years

-   daytime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
-   night time: 11 hours  **,**  30 minutes

## 3 years

-   daytime: 0 to 45 minutes
-   night time: 11 hours, 30 minutes to 12 hours

## 4 years

-   night time: 11 hours, 30 minutes

## 5 years

-   night time: 11 hours

## 6 years

-   night time: 10 hours, 45 minutes

## 7 years

-   night time: 10 hours, 30 minutes

## 8 years

-   night time: 10 hours, 15 minutes

## 9 years

-   night time: 10 hours

## 10 years

-   night time: 9 hours, 45 minutes

## 11 years

-   night time: 9 hours, 30 minutes

## 12 years

-   night time: 9 hours, 15 minutes

## 13 years

-   night time: 9 hours, 15 minutes

## 14 years

-   night time: 9 hours

## 15 years

-   night time: 9 hours

## 16 years

-   night time: 9 hours

## How lack of sleep can affect children

Evidence shows that night time sleep is just as important as healthy eating and exercise for children to develop. Those who don't get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight or [obese](/health-library/conditions/obesity) . This is because they tend to crave and eat sugary or starchy food during the day to give them energy to stay awake.

The key to how much is enough sleep is whether a child gets up fairly easily in the morning, is alert and happy for most of the day, and is not grumpy.

Younger children who are persistently sleep-deprived seem irritable and overactive, seek constant stimulation and don't concentrate well. Such symptoms can be mistaken for mild [ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)](/health-library/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder) .


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References

All of Healthily's articles undergo medical safety checks to verify that the information is medically safe. View more details in our <a href="/safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">safety page</a>, or read our <a href="/legal/editorial-policy-principles" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">editorial policy</a>.