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How much sleep does a preschooler need? (3-5 years)

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

Short answer

10–13 h

per 24 hours is recommended for preschoolers aged 3-5 years, naps included. AASM: 10–13 hours.

May be appropriate for some8–9 · 14 hNSF panel's wider band
Not recommended< 8 · > 14hours 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 — preschooler 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 preschoolers aged 3-5 years the recommended range is 10–13 hours in 24 hours. Outside that, 8–9 or 14 hours "may be appropriate" for some individuals, and under 8 or over 14 hours is not recommended.

A second panel, convened by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in 2016 for children and teenagers, reached 10–13 hours for this group (naps included). The two panels disagree by at most an hour at the edges, which is a good sign the ranges are not arbitrary.

The recommended band for preschoolers spans 3 hours, which is one of the wider bands — individual need varies most at this age. Compared with toddlers (11–14 h), the preschooler range is 1 hour lower at the bottom and 1 at the top. The next group up, school-age childs (6-13 years), moves to 9–11 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 preschoolers

For preschoolers, 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

Toddler (1-2 years)11–14 hSchool-age child (6-13 years)9–11 h Turn 10–13 hours into a bedtimeby wake-up time How many cycles is 10–13 hours?7–9 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.