How long do newborns sleep?

Part of Baby Sleeping Guides

How long do babies sleep? For a newborn, some sleep about 8 hours in 24 hours, and some sleep up to about 18. Either is normal. How long do newborns sleep, and how many hours do newborns sleep, is that same range. They wake to feed. It is highly unlikely they will sleep through the night.

The hours below are the range on the NHS page about your baby's sleep patterns. This page does not add a target in the middle, and it does not split the newborn total into a nap chart. Where the sleep happens stays the same at every age on this list: on their back, on a firm, flat mattress, with a fitted sheet, in your room for the first 6 months.

Age	What the range is
Newborn	Some about 8 hours in 24 hours. Some up to about 18. Either is normal. They wake to feed. How much should a newborn sleep? There is no single number. How long should a 1 month old sleep? Still this band. There is no separate total.
3 to 6 months	Some sleep 8 hours or longer at night. Not all.
6 to 12 months	Some sleep up to 12 hours at night. Teething and hunger can wake them.
After the first birthday	Around 12 to 15 hours total.

The newborn range

Eight hours and eighteen hours look far apart. Both sit inside normal for a newborn, across a day and a night together. A baby at the shorter end is not behind a baby at the longer end. You do not stretch the day to match someone else's total.

Count the 24 hours, not one long night. Day sleep and night sleep both belong in that newborn total. How many hours a day do newborns sleep? The same 24-hour spread. This page will not tell you how many naps make up the 8, or the 18.

A parent online will compare a cousin who "sleeps all day" with a baby who wakes often. About 8 is a real newborn total. Up to about 18 is a real newborn total. The job is the feed, the nappy, and a clear cot, repeated.

If they seem unwell, call a doctor. A total on this page is not a diagnosis, and it is not a reason to ignore a baby who is hot, floppy, or struggling.

They wake to feed

Newborns wake to feed. A night in pieces is the pattern, not a problem you solve with a longer gap. Hunger brings them up. You feed them, you settle them on their back, and you expect another wake.

How often those feeds come is its own question. Read How often should you feed a newborn? This page will not turn a sleep total into a feeding timetable. The 8 hours and the 18 hours already include babies who wake.

A longer stretch can happen. It does not cancel the next feed when they wake for it. The cot is the sleep place. On their back. Fitted sheet. A well-fitting sleep bag can replace a loose blanket. Pods, nests, pillows, bumpers, and soft toys stay out.

If you are exhausted, the plan is still the cot in your room. For the first 6 months they share your room. You can rest when they rest. The wakes still come.

At 3 to 6 months

At 3 to 6 months, some babies sleep 8 hours or longer at night. Not all. Some is not most. Not all means a baby who still wakes is still inside that range.

This is night sleep, not the newborn 24-hour total. Do not mix them. A newborn total of about 8 hours across the whole day is a different line from 8 hours at night in this later band. Your 2 month old is not late because the night is still broken.

You cannot force the "some". A calm cot, a feed when they wake, and a clear bed are the work. They do not produce an 8 hour night on a date. If the night is still in pieces at 4 months, or at 6 months, that can be your baby.

At 6 to 12 months

At 6 to 12 months, some babies sleep up to 12 hours at night. Up to is a ceiling some reach, not a mark you have to hit. A shorter night can still be ordinary.

Teething can wake them. Hunger can wake them. You do not add a blanket, a pillow, or a toy to buy the longer stretch back. The cot stays clear. On their back to start. Firm and flat. Fitted sheet.

If they seem ill, call a doctor. A wake is not a treatment plan, and this page does not give doses or gels.

Room sharing on the NHS safer sleep page is for the first 6 months. This band goes past that. The night-length fact does not tell you to move them out of your room on the day they turn 6 months, and it does not tell you to keep a bassinet past its own limit.

After the first birthday

After the first birthday, sleep is around 12 to 15 hours total. Total means the day and the night together. It is not a promise of 12 hours in one block.

The newborn range was about 8 to about 18 in 24 hours. This later range is tighter, and it belongs to a child past the first birthday. You do not pull a one year old back to the newborn spread, and you do not pull a newborn forward to 12 to 15 as a goal.

If a day looks short or long, look at the total, then talk to your health visitor or doctor if you are worried about them, not about a chart.

The cot, if they still use one, stays a clear sleep place. This birthday does not come with a loose blanket on this page. The total is 12 to 15. The face stays clear of loose bedding.

Sleeping through the night

Sleep through the night is the phrase parents use for an unbroken stretch. At 3 to 6 months, some babies sleep 8 hours or longer at night. Not all. Before that, newborns wake to feed. After that, some nights at 6 to 12 months reach up to 12 hours, and teething or hunger can still break them.

Eight hours at night is not a prize for doing the day correctly. It is what some babies do in that 3 to 6 month band. A baby who wakes at 5 months for a feed is inside "not all". You feed them. You put them back on their back.

If the worry is that they seem ill, call a doctor. The ranges are for well babies who simply sleep different totals. They are not a reason to wait out an illness.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• NHS. Your baby's sleep patterns.
• NHS. Safer sleep advice for babies.

Reviewed 6 November 2026. The hour ranges on this page are the ones on NHS, Your baby's sleep patterns. The room, the back, the fitted sheet, and the sleep bag are on NHS, Safer sleep advice for babies. No other hour total is used.