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How much sleep does a newborn need? (0-3 months)

Updated October 3, 2026 · Sources: National Sleep Foundation panel 2015 · AASM 2016/2015 · CDC

Short answer

14–17 h

per 24 hours is recommended for newborns aged 0-3 months, naps included. AASM gives no figure under 4 months.

May be appropriate for some11–13 · 18–19 hNSF panel's wider band
Not recommended< 11 · > 19hours per 24 h

General information from population studies (NIH, CDC, NSF, AASM). It is not medical advice and does not replace a clinician who knows you.

Recommended hours by age — newborn highlighted
4h6h8h10h12h14h16h18h20hNewborn14–17 hInfant12–15 hToddler11–14 hPreschooler10–13 hSchool-age child9–11 hTeenager8–10 hYoung adult7–9 hAdult7–9 hOlder adult7–8 h

Dark bars: recommended · light bars: may be appropriate · NSF panel (Hirshkowitz 2015) · as of October 3, 2026

Where the numbers come from

In 2015 a panel assembled by the National Sleep Foundation graded the evidence for every age group and published three bands rather than a single number. For newborns aged 0-3 months the recommended range is 14–17 hours in 24 hours. Outside that, 11–13 or 18–19 hours "may be appropriate" for some individuals, and under 11 or over 19 hours is not recommended.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine did not publish a figure for babies under four months: normal sleep at that age varies too widely, and the panel judged a recommendation could do more harm than good.

The recommended band for newborns spans 3 hours, which is one of the wider bands — individual need varies most at this age. The next group up, infants (4-11 months), moves to 12–15 hours.

Both panels side by side

Age groupAgeNSF recommendedNSF may be appropriateAASM
Newborn0-3 months14–17 h11–13, 18–19 h—
Infant4-11 months12–15 h10–11, 16–18 h12–16 h
Toddler1-2 years11–14 h9–10, 15–16 h11–14 h
Preschooler3-5 years10–13 h8–9, 14 h10–13 h
School-age child6-13 years9–11 h7–8, 12 h9–12 h
Teenager14-17 years8–10 h7, 11 h8–10 h
Young adult18-25 years7–9 h6, 10–11 h7+ h
Adult26-64 years7–9 h6, 10 h7+ h
Older adult65 years and over7–8 h5–6, 9 h7+ h

Sources: Hirshkowitz et al. 2015 (Sleep Health); Paruthi et al. 2016 (JCSM); Watson et al. 2015 (Sleep) · as of October 3, 2026

What too little looks like for newborns

For newborns, both panels note that too little sleep shows up first as behaviour — attention, mood and learning — before anything else. The ranges include daytime naps, which is why the numbers look large next to adult figures, and both panels stress that a child's needs change month to month.

A white pillow on a wooden bed frame
Photo by Deconovo on Unsplash

Related pages

Infant (4-11 months)12–15 h Turn 14–17 hours into a bedtimeby wake-up time How many cycles is 14–17 hours?9–11 cycles

Sources

  1. National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary — Sleep Health 1(1):40-43, 2015 (Hirshkowitz M. et al.)
  2. Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine — J Clin Sleep Med 12(6):785-786, 2016 (Paruthi S. et al.)
  3. Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult (AASM and Sleep Research Society consensus) — Sleep 38(6):843-844, 2015 (Watson N.F. et al.)
  4. How Much Sleep Do I Need? — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

General information from population studies (NIH, CDC, NSF, AASM). It is not medical advice and does not replace a clinician who knows you.