Wake windows by age: a chart, sample days, and how to use them

By The Tiny Sleeps team Updated

It’s twenty to eleven. He woke at nine, he’s been fed and changed, and now he’s rubbing his eyes and arching away from the play mat. Tired already, or bored? Someone says “check his wake window”, which helps until you realise you don’t know what his should be.

In short: a wake window is the time your baby is awake between two sleeps, counted from when they wake up to when they fall asleep again. It’s short for a newborn, around 45 minutes to an hour, and it lengthens steadily, to between four and a half and six hours for a toddler on one nap. In our model the first window of the day is the shortest and the one before bed the longest. Use the numbers as a starting point and let your baby’s tired signs fine-tune them.

This article is general information about baby sleep patterns. It isn’t medical advice. For any concern about your baby’s sleep, feeding or health, talk to your doctor, health nurse or health visitor.

Jump to a section
  1. How long should a baby be awake between naps? A wake window chart
  2. A wake window runs from waking up to falling asleep
  3. The first window is short and the last one is long
  4. The same 7am wake-up makes a very different day at each age
  5. When the day goes off-plan, bedtime is usually the lever
  6. Tired signs tell you when; the window tells you when to look
  7. When wake windows aren’t the answer
  8. Let the app do the sums and keep your eyes on the baby
  9. What else do parents ask?

How long should a baby be awake between naps? A wake window chart

These are the baby wake windows Tiny Sleeps starts from, and the app adjusts the plan through the day as your baby actually sleeps. If your baby was born early, use their age counted from the due date: the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends this corrected age for tracking development in the first two years,1 and we use it for sleep too. Each row runs up to the next, and real babies drift across over a few weeks.

Age Wake window Naps a day Daytime sleep in total
0–6 weeks 45 min – 1 h 4–6 4–5 h
6–12 weeks 1 h – 1 h 30 4–5 4–5 h
3–4 months 1 h 15 – 2 h 3–4 3–4 h
4–6 months 2 h – 2 h 30 3 2 h 30 – 3 h 30
6–9 months 2 h 30 – 3 h 30 2 2 h 30 – 3 h
9–14 months 3 h – 4 h 2 (some 1) 2–3 h
14–18 months 4 h 30 – 5 h 30 1 2 h – 2 h 30
18–24 months 5 h – 6 h 1 1 h 30 – 2 h

After two, our model keeps using the last row. Under three months, treat the daytime total as a loose guide: it depends a lot on when the night’s longest stretch starts.

Across the studies in one systematic review, babies averaged about three naps a day up to five months, about two from six to eleven months, and just over one in the second year.2 Our counts run a little higher in the first months, on purpose. That research average covers the whole of the first five months, so it blends a newborn with a five-month-old. And with wake windows under two hours, a young baby’s day simply has room for more naps, many of them short. We’d rather plan a nap your baby skips than leave out one they needed. A study that followed 172 children found two naps well established by nine to twelve months and a single afternoon nap by fifteen to twenty-four months.3 Our model makes the switch to one nap a little before that range starts, so if your toddler still needs two naps well past their first birthday, that’s ordinary: follow your toddler.

Where these numbers come from

They’re our own tables. Naps fall from several a day to one, as above, and from four months the recommended total is 12 to 16 hours of sleep a day including naps, falling to 11 to 14 hours between one and two.4 No study has pinned down the perfect wake window for each age; a review of sleep in young children notes that recommendations at this age rest mostly on typical patterns and expert opinion.5 So the best test is how your baby responds.

A wake window runs from waking up to falling asleep

Start the clock when your baby wakes, not when you lift them out of bed. Some babies lie there content for a while, babbling or looking around, and that quiet time counts too, as do the feeds and nappy changes after it.

Stop the clock when they fall asleep, not when you put them down. If your baby usually takes fifteen minutes to drift off, it helps to start the wind-down about fifteen minutes before the window ends.

Why it matters at all: the longer a child is awake, the more sleep pressure builds.6 Put down too early and there often isn’t enough of it yet, which tends to look like a baby who chats, rolls about and naps for twenty minutes. Too late and they can tip into overtired, which often looks like a child resisting sleep despite being very tired.7 Both scenarios can end in the same short nap.

The first window is short and the last one is long

Wake windows aren’t the same length all day. In how we model it, the day has a shape:

So the first window can run a little under the chart’s range and the one before bed a little over it. For a 5 month old on two to two and a half hours, that might mean just under two hours first thing and just over two and a half before bed.

A short night shortens the day. If last night came up more than an hour short of what we’d expect for their age, our model trims the next day’s windows a little to make room for extra sleep, with naps coming sooner and bedtime earlier, and a bigger shortfall trims them more. A baby who was up at half four obviously won’t manage the same morning as one who slept until seven, so start with the first nap.

The same 7am wake-up makes a very different day at each age

These are worked from the ranges above for a baby who wakes at 07:00. Treat them as illustrations. If yours wakes at six, shift everything an hour earlier and see what happens to bedtime (though we wouldn’t take bedtime below six).

A 3 to 4 month old: four naps

Time What Awake before it
07:00 Wakes
08:15–09:30 Nap 1 1 h 15
11:00–12:15 Nap 2 1 h 30
14:00–14:45 Nap 3 1 h 45
16:30–17:00 Catnap 1 h 45
19:00 Bedtime 2 h

A 5 month old: three naps

Time What Awake before it
07:00 Wakes
08:50–10:05 Nap 1 1 h 50
12:20–13:50 Nap 2 2 h 15
16:05–16:35 Catnap 2 h 15
19:15 Bedtime 2 h 40

An 8 month old: two naps

Time What Awake before it
07:00 Wakes
09:30–10:45 Nap 1 2 h 30
13:45–15:15 Nap 2 3 h
18:45 Bedtime 3 h 30

A 16 month old: one nap

Time What Awake before it
07:00 Wakes
11:30–13:30 Nap 4 h 30
19:00 Bedtime 5 h 30

The short late-afternoon nap on the three- and four-nap days is a bridge: just enough sleep to get to bedtime without a meltdown. We keep it to about forty to forty-five minutes, because a long late nap pushes bedtime late.

Under three months, we don’t give a sample day. Newborns sleep around the clock, clear rhythms of sleep and waking generally develop after about two months,8 and feeds set much of the timetable. Newborn wake windows are under an hour at first, so watch the tired signs as much as the clock. Before about three months many babies don’t have a settled bedtime yet; a regular bedtime between about half six and eight becomes realistic from around three to four months.

When the day goes off-plan, bedtime is usually the lever

Most days won’t look like the tables. Here’s how to handle the usual detours:

A nap ends early. The next sleep moves earlier with it, and if tired signs turn up before the window is out, go with them. A thirty-minute nap takes the edge off but doesn’t reset the tank.

The last nap ended early and bedtime is a long way off. If the gap is a bit longer than your baby usually manages before bed, bring bedtime forward rather than stretching. If it’s a lot longer, and it’s still early enough in the afternoon, a short bridge nap of about half an hour can get you there.

It’s too late for another nap. Past a certain hour a nap starts to cost you the night: in a study of eighteen-month-olds, longer and later naps went with later, shorter nights.9 As a rough guide, we don’t start a nap after about half five before around five months, about five o’clock from five to eight months, about four o’clock from eight months to a year, and about half two after the first birthday. After that, an earlier bedtime does the job, though we wouldn’t put it before six.

Your toddler’s one nap was short. If it’s still early enough, a recovery nap beats a seven-hour stretch to bed. If it isn’t, bedtime comes earlier.

Tired signs tell you when; the window tells you when to look

The window tells you roughly when to start paying attention; your baby’s cues tell you when they’re actually ready. The usual ones are yawning, rubbing their eyes, staring blankly, sucking their fingers, jerky movements, losing interest in toys, and getting cross or clingy. Health services suggest that noticing those signs and responding early can help a child settle more easily.7

In practice: when your baby is about three-quarters of the way through their window, start winding down. Dim the lights, slow the play, do the nappy and the sleeping bag. If the tired signs arrive before the window ends, follow the baby. If the window ends and there’s no sign of tiredness, give it ten or fifteen more minutes.

If naps keep going wrong, move the window by fifteen minutes at a time and hold it for a few days before you judge it. One bad nap tells you very little; three days of the same thing tells you something.

When wake windows aren’t the answer

Some days timing isn’t the issue at all.

Your baby already has a rhythm that works. If naps happen, nights are fine and everyone is coping, you don’t need to fit a chart. A happy baby on 2 h 45 when the table says 2 h 30 isn’t doing it wrong.

Something else is going on. Illness, a new skill, a new room or a return to work can scramble sleep for reasons that have nothing to do with timing. Adjusting windows won’t fix a cold.

Some babies sit outside the ranges. How much babies sleep varies widely: in the first two months, the normal range in one review ran from about 9 to 20 hours a day.2 A baby who needs less or more than the table and is otherwise well is a baby, not a problem.

You may not need to track anything. If you can tell when your baby is tired and the day mostly works, your instinct is already doing what a chart does.

When to talk to your doctor, health nurse or health visitor

These aren’t timing problems, and they’re worth a call:

Let the app do the sums and keep your eyes on the baby

This is what Tiny Sleeps is for. One tap when your baby falls asleep, one when they wake, and the day’s schedule shifts around what actually happened. The next nap and bedtime are worked out from when your baby last woke and how much they’ve slept today and last night, with wake windows sized for their age. When a nap runs short, the next one moves; when the night was short, the windows shrink. Both of you see the same plan when you open the app, so whoever has the baby at four o’clock knows whether that yawn is early or right on time.

A chart on the fridge works too; the app just does the arithmetic for you.

What else do parents ask?

Does feeding time count as part of the wake window?

Yes. Everything between waking and falling asleep counts: feeds, nappy changes, the bath, the car seat. That's why newborn windows feel so short, since a long feed and a change can use up most of one. If your baby falls asleep feeding, the window ended there.

How can I tell if my baby's wake window is too short or too long?

We find the mood when you put them down is the best clue. A window that's too short often looks cheerful: chatting or rolling about in the cot, taking ages to drop off. One that's too long often looks cross: crying as soon as they're laid down, arching, a nap that ends in tears. Either can end in a short nap, so it's the start of the nap that tells you which way to adjust.

What are wake windows for a newborn?

In our tables, 45 minutes to an hour for the first six weeks, then an hour to an hour and a half from about six weeks to three months. In the early weeks that may be little more than a feed, a change and a cuddle. Newborn sleep is irregular, so the window is a rough guide, and the tired signs matter more than the clock until around three months.

Are wake windows different for premature babies?

Use your baby's age counted from their due date, not their birthday. A baby born six weeks early who is now three months old is, for these tables, about seven weeks old, and their windows will usually look more like a seven-week-old's. If you're unsure, your doctor, health nurse or health visitor can help you work out their corrected age.

When will my baby drop a nap?

In our model, four naps become three around four months, three become two around six months, and two become one around fourteen months, but babies vary by weeks either way. The usual sign is a nap that's refused most days, or one that pushes bedtime late; one bad nap isn't a transition. While the switch settles, expect longer windows and an earlier bedtime for a week or two.

What is a 4 month old's wake window?

Four months is where our chart changes rows. Until just after it, the model plans three or four naps with windows of an hour and a quarter to two hours; then it moves to three naps with windows of two to two and a half hours. That's a big step, and a baby who suddenly takes a long time to settle for the first nap may be ready for the longer window.

What is a good 6 month old wake window?

Six months is where our chart changes rows. Just before it, the model plans three naps with windows of two to two and a half hours; from just after it, two naps with windows of two and a half to three and a half hours. Plenty of babies make that switch a few weeks either side, so if the third nap is getting hard to fit in around six months, that's usually why.

Do wake windows apply at night?

Not really. At night the aim is to get back to sleep, so a night feed doesn't start a new countdown to the next sleep. Wake windows are a daytime tool, and the night matters to them only through how much sleep it delivered.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. American Academy of Pediatrics. Corrected age for preemies. HealthyChildren.org. healthychildren.org ↩

  2. Galland BC, Taylor BJ, Elder DE, Herbison P. Normal sleep patterns in infants and children: a systematic review of observational studies. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2012;16(3):213–222. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2011.06.001 ↩ ↩2

  3. Weissbluth M. Naps in children: 6 months–7 years. Sleep. 1995;18(2):82–87. doi:10.1093/sleep/18.2.82 ↩

  4. Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D’Ambrosio C, Hall WA, Kotagal S, Lloyd RM, Malow BA, Maski K, Nichols C, Quan SF, Rosen CL, Troester MM, Wise MS. Recommended amount of sleep for pediatric populations: a consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2016;12(6):785–786. doi:10.5664/jcsm.5866 ↩

  5. Bathory E, Tomopoulos S. Sleep regulation, physiology and development, sleep duration and patterns, and sleep hygiene in infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care. 2017;47(2):29–42. doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2016.12.001 ↩

  6. Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. How sleep is regulated. Kids Health Hub. schn.health.nsw.gov.au ↩

  7. Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. Signs of a tired child. Kids Health Hub. schn.health.nsw.gov.au ↩ ↩2

  8. Rivkees SA. Developing circadian rhythmicity in infants. Pediatrics. 2003;112(2):373–381. doi:10.1542/peds.112.2.373 ↩

  9. Nakagawa M, Ohta H, Nagaoki Y, Shimabukuro R, Asaka Y, Takahashi N, Nakazawa T, Kaneshi Y, Morioka K, Oishi Y, Azami Y, Ikeuchi M, Takahashi M, Hirata M, Ozawa M, Cho K, Kusakawa I, Yoda H. Daytime nap controls toddlers’ nighttime sleep. Scientific Reports. 2016;6:27246. doi:10.1038/srep27246 ↩