Baby sleep requirements: A guide for the science-minded parent

© 2008 – 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved
Mother working at a computer while holding sleeping baby

If you look up baby sleep requirements in a modern parenting book, you might detect a table like this:

Total slumber time required over a 24-hour period

  • Newborn…….sixteen-17 hours
  • one-6 months….15-sixteen hours
  • 6-12 months…14 hours
  • 1-two years…..13-14 hours

The tables seem administrative and concise. Simply what are they based on?

The authors nigh never cite their sources, and I suspect it's because they don't take any.

Why?

Because even the best communication involves guesswork.

These guesses may exist good enough for some purposes. But if you're having slumber bug, or your baby'southward sleep patterns seem unusual, information technology'southward helpful to delve deeper.

By reviewing the scientific show for baby sleep requirements, you can do a better job understanding your baby's private needs.

Here I explicate how scientists estimate slumber requirements for the average babe, and I written report the results of ane of the most extensive studies of average sleep duration in babies.

This information–combined with opens in a new windowtips on how to tell if your baby is overtired–will help you make up one's mind how much sleep your baby needs.

In addition, if your baby is very young, check out this commodity about newborn baby sleep requirements and patterns.  If your child is older than two years, see my article about the slumber needs of toddlers and big kids.

And for information about how babies autumn asleep–and how you tin aid your baby stay asleep–see this commodity about the biological science of babe sleep.

How baby sleep requirements are estimated

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Everybody knows that babies demand more slumber than older children exercise. But how much?

When I began researching baby sleep requirements, I causeless that those administrative charts we see published everywhere—the ones telling the states that the average newborn needs 16 hours of slumber, for case—were based on scientifically-established, biological needs.

I figured that somebody must have identified a link between, say, a certain minimum number of sleep hours and optimal rates of childhood growth. Or between sleep hours and rates of infection.

I was wrong.

It turns out that scientists know relatively little nearly infant sleep requirements. The sleep charts that you see in parenting books and websites are based on how much time parents—typically, Western parents—say their babies spend sleeping. For instance, studies of Australian babies reveal that the average newborn gets nigh 16-17 hours of slumber over a 24-hour menstruum. Babies aged 4-six months average fourteen hours (So et al 2007; Price et al 2014).

Do such average sleep times predict your baby's sleep requirements?

Maybe. It seems plausible that almost infants are pretty good self-regulators of their own sleep needs. Give your baby plenty opportunities, and he may naturally come across his ain baby sleep requirements. If that's true—and if about parents give their babies the necessary opportunities—then studies of real-world sleep behavior may tell us a lot well-nigh baby sleep requirements.

Merely it'south a scrap more complicated than that.

For one thing, dissimilar individuals have dissimilar needs. This may be especially true for baby sleep requirements. Equally the data beneath show, babies vary tremendously in the number of hours that they sleep.

Another important point is that slumber habits vary from civilisation to culture. Children in living in different nations get different amounts of sleep, and average sleep times accept changed from generation to generation.

Based on a recent telephone survey conducted past the National Sleep Foundation, American kids—including babies—seem to be sleeping less than they used to (National Sleep Foundation 2004).

A similar trend towards less slumber has been documented in Switzerland, (Iglowstein et al 2003), Kingdom of saudi arabia (Bahamman et al 2006), Hong Kong (Ng 2005), Australia (Smedje 2007), Israel, and Republic of finland (Tynjala et al 1993).

Are contemporary kids in these countries getting the correct amount of sleep? Some researchers suspect non. Only until more than inquiry has been done, nobody knows for sure.

So sleep charts are not necessarily the last word on baby slumber requirements. To estimate your baby's ain, individualized needs, you need to supplement information from sleep charts with your own observations of your baby's beliefs.

Beneath I provide detailed data from ane of the best modern studies of average sleep times (Iglowstein et al 2003). As you check the numbers out, be sure to notice how widely slumber times vary for each age group.

Babe sleep requirements: Evidence from a longitudinal study

Iglowstein and colleagues tracked 493 Swiss children from nascence to 16 years (Iglowstein et al 2003). Hither are the sleep patterns they observed for children under the age of 2 years. They may serve as a rough guide to baby sleep requirements.

1 calendar month old:

  • The average babe got a full of 14-fifteen hours of sleep
  • 50% of babies got between 13 and 16 hours
  • 96% of babies got betwixt 9 and 19 hours

iii months old:

  • The average baby got a full of 14-15 hours of sleep
  • l% of babies got betwixt 13 and 16 hours
  • 96% of babies got between 10 and 19 hours

6 months old:

  • The boilerplate babe got about xiv.2 hours of total sleep
  • fifty% of babies got between 13 and fifteen.5 hours
  • 96% of babies got between 10.4 and 18.i hours

ix months erstwhile:

  • The average baby got about 13.ix hours of total sleep
  • l% of babies got betwixt 12.8 and xv hours
  • 96% of babies got betwixt x.5 and 17.4 hours

1 year sometime:

  • The average baby got about 13.ix hours of total sleep
  • 50% of babies got betwixt 13 and 14.8 hours
  • 96% of babies got between 11.iv and sixteen.five hours

18 months old:

  • The average infant got most 13.six hours of total sleep
  • 50% of babies got between 12.7 and 14.v hours
  • 96% of babies got between 11.1 and sixteen hours

two years old:

  • The boilerplate baby got near 13.2 hours of total sleep
  • 50% of babies got between 12.3 and 14 hours
  • 96% of babies got between 10.eight and xv.6 hours

These numbers represent full slumber duration–how much babies slept over a 24-hour period. Of class, non all of this sleep time occurred at dark.

One-month-onetime babies slept an average of 8 hours each dark, with 96% of babies getting between 6 and thirteen.3 hours of dark sleep. At iii months, babies spent more fourth dimension sleeping at dark–10 hours, on average. For babies over 6 months, the amount of nighttime slumber stayed adequately constant beyond ages—near 11 hours on average, with a range of approximately ix-xiii hours (Iglowstein et al 2003).

Infant sleep requirements are likewise met by sleeping during the day. Here is some information on the corporeality of time babies spent taking naps.

Daytime sleep (naps)

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In the Swiss written report (Iglowstein et al 2003), all babies took naps throughout their first year. Nigh babies connected the practice of napping throughout their 2d twelvemonth, with 87% of ii-year olds taking daytime naps. Fourth dimension spent napping followed these patterns:

ane calendar month former

  • The boilerplate baby slept between 5 and 6 hours during the daytime
  • 50% of babies slept betwixt approximately 4.five and 7 hours
  • 96% of babies slept between two and ix hours

3 months one-time

  • The average infant slept a bit less than five hours during the daytime
  • 50% of babies slept between approximately 3.five and half dozen hours
  • 96% of babies slept between i and 8 hours

6 months old

  • The boilerplate baby slept almost 3.4 hours during the daytime
  • 50% of babies slept between approximately 2.5 and four.5 hours
  • 96% of babies slept between 0.four and 6.4 hours

9 months old

  • The average baby slept about 2.eight hours during the daytime
  • l% of babies slept between approximately ii and 4 hours
  • 96% of babies slept between 0.2 and 5.three hours

i twelvemonth old

  • The average baby slept about 2.4 hours during the daytime
  • l% of babies slept betwixt approximately 2 and 3.five hours
  • 96% of babies slept between 0.ii and 4.6 hours

18 months old

  • The average baby slept about 2 hours during the daytime
  • 50% of babies slept between approximately 1.five to 2.v hours
  • 96% of babies slept betwixt 0.five and 3.6 hours

2 years old

  • The average baby slept nearly 1.viii hours during the daytime
  • 50% of babies slept betwixt approximately one.3 to 2.3 hours
  • 96% of babies slept between 0.7 and 2.9 hours

Elsewhere, naps may exist on the reject. In a contempo written report of American children, 82% of babies over eighteen months were not taking any naps on some or all days (Acebo et al 2005).

Babe sleep requirements: Why your infant may differ from the average

The statistics presented above stand for some of the best inquiry nosotros have on average sleep times for children. But earlier yous attempt to apply them to your own baby, proceed in mind that the study focused on a specific population: Swiss kids built-in betwixt 1974 and 1993.

Depending on cultural factors and individual differences, infant slumber patterns might differ significantly from those of the Swiss report population. Consider these points.

Sleep times vary cross-culturally.

In one study, xvi-week erstwhile Kokwet babies—members of the Kipsigi ethnic group in Kenya—slept about 2 hours less per 24 hours than did American babies of the same age (Super and Harkness 1982; Parmalee et al 1964). In another study, 3-calendar month one-time Dutch infants slept 2 hours more than American infants did (Super et al 1996). Such cultural differences in sleep duration may reflect important differences in the means that babies are handled and fed during the mean solar day. For instance, American parents believe it is especially important to provide their babies with lots of sensory stimulation. Dutch parents are more likely to emphasize rest and regularity (Super et al 1996).

Breastfed babies tend to sleep less.

Studies of 4 week-old infants found that breastfed babies got less slumber than did formula-fed babies (Quillin and Glenn 2004; Quillin 1997).

Cosleeping babies sleep less.

A Swiss study has reported that children over ix months of historic period who shared their parents' beds slept less than did children who slept alone (Jenni et al 2005).

Every baby is dissimilar.

As the data to a higher place point, babies may vary greatly in the amount of time that they sleep. And recent research suggests that some variation in private sleep patterns has a biological basis. Adults subjected to identical sleep conditions respond in individualistic ways—even when they all belong to the aforementioned culture (Tucker et al 2007). Recent genetic enquiry indicates that some aspects of sleep–including sleep elapsing–have a genetic basis (Gottlieb et al 2007). Infant sleep requirements may run in the family.

Coping with the individualized nature of baby sleep requirements

The charts above offer clues to your baby's sleep needs. Merely for a more than fine-tuned estimate of babe sleep requirements, y'all need to consider your babe's beliefs. You can learn a lot by observing what fourth dimension(south) of twenty-four hours she seems sleepy and what her beliefs is like when she wakes upwardly in the morning time.

But babies can be hard to read. For help identifying when your baby is tired–and identifying his personal baby slumber requirements–see this guide to opens in a new windowsigns of sleep deprivation in babies and children.


References: Infant sleep requirements

Acebo C, Sadeh A, Seifer R, Tzischinsky O, Hafer A, Carskadon MA. 2005. Sleep/wake patterns derived from action monitoring and maternal report for healthy 1- to v-year-old children. Sleep. 28(12):1568-77.

Armstrong KL, Quinn RA, and Dadds MR. 1994. The sleep patterns of normal children. Med Journal of Commonwealth of australia 161: 202-206.

BaHammam A, Bin Saheed A, Al-Faris E, and Shaihk S. 2006. Sleep elapsing and its correlates in a sample of Saudi schoolhouse children. Singapore Medical Journal 47: 875-81.

Gottlieb DJ, O'Connor GT, and Wilk JB. 2007. Genome-wide clan of sleep and circadian phenotypes. BMC Medical Genetics viii(Supplement one): S9-S16.

Hunt CE. 2003. National sleep disorders research program. Bethesda, Physician: National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.

Jenni OG, Molinari 50, Caflish JA, and Largo RH. 2007. Sleep Duration From Ages 1 to 10 Years: Variability and Stability in Comparing With Growth. Pediatrics 120(four): e769-e776.

Jenni OG, Zinggeler Fuhrer H, Iglowstein I, Molinari L, and Largo RH. 2005. A longitudinal study of bed sharing and sleep problems amidst Swiss children in the first 10 years of life. Pediatrics 115(1): 233-240.

Iglowstein I, Jenni OG, Molinari L, Largo RH. 2003. Slumber duration from infancy to adolescence: Reference values and generational trends. Pediatrics 111(2): 302-307.

Largo RH and Hunziker UA. 1984. A developmental approach to the management of children with sleep disturbances in the kickoff 3 years of life. Euro Journal of Pediatrics 142: 170-173.

Lavigne JV, Arend R, Rosenbaum D et al. 1999. Sleep and behavior problems among preschoolers. Journal of Dev Behav Pediatr. xx: 164-169.

Ng DK, Kwok KL, Cheung Jm, et al. 2005. Prevalence of sleep issues in Hong Kong primary school children: a community-based telephone survey. Chest 128: 1315-1323.

Ottaviano S, Giannotti F, Cortesi F, Bruni O, Ottaviano C. 1996. Sleep characteristics in healthy children from nativity to half-dozen years of age in the urban surface area of Rome. Slumber xix: 1-3.

Parmalee, AH, Wenner, WH, Schultz, HR.1964. Infant sleep patterns: From birth to 16 weeks of historic period. J. Pediatr., 65, 576-582.

Price AM, Dark-brown JE, Bittman M, Wake M, Quach J, and Hiscock H. 2014. Children'due south sleep patterns from 0 to 9 years: Australian population longitudinal study. Arch Dis Kid. 99(2):119-25.

Quillin SI and Glenn LL. 2004. Interaction betwixt feeding method and co-sleeping on maternal-newborn sleep. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 33(5): 580-588.

Quillin SI. 1997. Babe and mother sleep patterns during the 4th postpartum calendar week. Bug Comp Pediatric Nurs 20(ii): 115-123.

Smedje H. 2007. Australian study of 10- to 15-year olds shows significant pass up in sleep duration betwixt 1985 and 2004. Acta Paediatrica 96 (7): 954–955.

And so, G, Adamson TM, and Horne RS. 2007. The apply of actigraphy for assessment of the evolution of sleep/wake patterns in infants during the commencement 12 months of life. Journal of Sleep Inquiry 16(2): 181-187.

Super CM, Harkness S, and van Tijen North. 1996. The 3 R's of Dutch childrearing and the socialization of infant arousal. In S. Harkness & C.Thousand. Super (Eds.), Parents' cultural belief systems: Their origins, expressions, and consequences (pp. 447–466). New York: Guilford Press.

Super CM and Harkness S. The baby's niche in rural Kenya and metropolitan America. 1982. In: Cross-cultural Research at Issue, pp. 47-55, Fifty.Fifty. Adler (Ed.). New York: Academic Printing.

Tucker AM, Dinges DF, Van Dongen HP. 2007. Trait interindividual differences in the slumber physiology of good for you young adults. J Sleep Research 16(2) 170-180.

Tynjala J, Kannas L, and Valimaa R. 1993. How young Europeans sleep. Wellness Educ Res eight: 69-lxxx.

Last modified 5/14

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