How Much Sleep Do Children Need? Part One: 1 to 4 Months Old

Occasionally, I'll reprint articles from my website and from my Sleep Disorders Blog.  The following serialized, 5-part article was first published on my website, SoundSleepSolutions.  If you have any first-hand experience with these age groups, please feel free to jump in and leave a comment.

How Much Sleep Do Children Need?  1-4 Months Old

By Michael Breus, PhD, ABSM
and Stuart J. Meyers, MD

1-4 Weeks Old: 15 ½ - 16 ½ hours per day

Newborns typically sleep about 15 to 18 hours a day, but only in short periods of two to four hours.  Premature babies may sleep longer and colicky ones shorter.

Since newborns do not yet have an internal biological clock or circadian rhythm, their sleep patterns are not related to the daylight and nighttime cycles.  In fact, they tend not to have much of a pattern at all -- their needs are unpredictable at this age.  And there is not much you can do about it.  You have to go with the flow, do what works to soothe and comfort your baby, and be on "baby time."

During transitions from wake to sleep and vice versa, you may see a sudden jerk or body twitch, as well as her eyes rolling upward as she falls asleep.  As the brain develops, you may also see restless movements and agitation accompanied by crying for no apparent reason. This is all quite normal and is no cause for alarm.

1-3 Months Old: 14 ½ - 15 ½ hours per day

5-8 Weeks Old:

By 6 weeks old social smiling begins, your baby is beginning to settle down a bit, and you may notice more regular sleep patterns emerging.  The longest periods of sleep run four to six hours and now tend to occur more regularly in the evening.  Day-night confusion ends.

Two hours is about the longest time your baby can stay awake and remain happy and alert.  So she needs to take a nap within that time frame. Waiting until your child is overtired or keeping her up past 2 hours often results in resistance to going to sleep, as well as fussiness and behavioral changes.  Interestingly, if naps are deprived on a regular basis, her body produces stimulating hormones to fight fatigue that may actually cause night awakenings.  So it is important to become sensitive to your baby's sleep needs.

Learn to recognize early when your baby is becoming tired. Look for signs like rubbing eyes, pulling ears, getting circles under the eyes. Begin the wind-down routine right away; soothe her in a consistent manner that works for you, and then put her to sleep in her crib.  She is now developing sensitivity to her surroundings, recognizing cues like light, noise, and vibration.  So when sleeping, she should be motionless and in a quiet, darkened area.  All this helps your baby become a more regular sleeper.

3-4 Months Old: 14-15 hours per day

Your baby is now getting about two-thirds of sleep at night with three daytime naps, and so is beginning to establish a more firm day-night cycle.  She may still sleep irregularly, and at this stage it is OK to forego rigid scheduling, because it is her biology and not her sleep habits that is the predominant factor.

That said, it is important to develop and maintain consistent routines so she does not develop unhealthy sleep habits, which will soon play a major role in her ability to sleep soundly.  She needs to begin to learn how to soothe herself and put herself to sleep.  Also, now that she is more interested in the world around her, it becomes more important to place her in a quiet, darkened room, where she will be able sleep well.

Now that your baby has become more social (smiling, giggling, laughing) she may well prefer to be with you and play rather than go to sleep. So you may find some resistance to nap- and bedtime.  Do not deny her the critical sleep she needs. Overtired babies quickly become miserable; many may cry with such duration and intensity that they even appear to be sick.

I like the analogy Mark Weissbluth, MD, uses in his book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: "You want to catch the wave of drowsiness as it is rising to enable your baby to have a long smooth ride to deep slumber. If your timing is off and your wave crashes into an overtired state, then the ride is bumpy and brief…. Crying is the consequence of being overtired." 

Come back to this blog tomorrow at the same time to read Part 2:  4 to 12 months old.

Link to the full article at SoundSleepSolutions.

Comments

[Janet Kane]

My son is now 14 months old and a great sleeper. Your comments on sleeping behavior in the 1-4 month age range is right on with my son. He began to gain a sleeping/napping routine by 3 1/2 months old and moved to one AM and one PM nap by 5-6 months old. He is now at one PM nap a day and doing really well. I read Weissbluth's book which you noted above throughout my son's first year to reference what to do next to assure he got good sleep. It was invaluable.

[Barry]

My 14 month old baby has been sleeping pretty well. We just went through the Ferber method of sleep at night and he has adapted amzingly well to it and sleeps through the night most nights.
He has been on one nap a day for 3+ months and doing well with that, howvere, last week he has started to want a 45 minute nap at 10:30am (afetr waking up at 8:00am and sleeping 11-12 hours) and then wanting another 45 minute nap in the afternoon.
I am wondering why he needs to nap so quickly after waking up from a great nights sleep???
Note: He has been tetthing alot and currently has all 4 molars in and 2 of the 4 eye teeth have broken through as well. Could this be causing him to want to nap? Or could it be a growth spurt?

Barry

[baby sleeping problem]

My Baby now 7 month old, and he so good sleeping at night. he began to sleep at 9.00 PM and wake up 7.30 AM. In the day, he sleep twice in the morning after breakfast and on 2.00 PM.