Wake window and nap calculator by age
Pick your baby’s age and wake-up time to see a typical day: how many naps, how long babies that age are commonly awake between sleeps, and an approximate bedtime. For example, many 9-month-olds take 2 naps with about 3–3.5 hours awake between sleeps. These are rule-of-thumb ranges from practice, not research findings or medical advice, and babies vary.
Please read first: wake windows, nap counts and bedtimes by age are commonly used rules of thumb from practice. They are not research findings and not medical advice. Healthy babies vary a lot. The only research recommendation on this page is total sleep per 24 hours from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), which starts at 4 months.
Keep in mind: a calculator gives an average. The hard part is getting your particular baby to follow it. That is what a custom plan and daily check-ins are for.
The calculator shows what a typical baby of that age does. Your baby may be nowhere near it, for reasons the chart cannot see: how they fall asleep, how they feed, their temperament, your family’s day. Actually Sleeping starts from your baby instead of the average. Dr. Sam writes a schedule and plan for your baby, and the team adjusts it with you every day.
How the calculator works
- Awake time is the typical range between one sleep and the next for that age. The first window of the day is usually the shortest and the last before bed the longest.
- First nap is your wake-up time plus that range.
- Bedtime is worked back from your wake-up time using typical overnight sleep for the age. Under about 3 months there is no derived bedtime, because night sleep is still broken by feeds.
- Times are rounded to 5 minutes. Feeding on cue always comes before any clock time.
The full table
Bedtime column assumes a 7 a.m. wake-up. All columns except the last are rules of thumb.
| Age | Naps | Awake between sleeps | Typical overnight | Bedtime (7 a.m. wake-up) | AASM total sleep per 24 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 weeks | 5 or more, no pattern yet | 45 min–1 h | Broken by feeds | No set bedtime yet | No AASM recommendation under 4 months |
| 1–2 months | 4–5 | 1–1.5 h | Broken by feeds | No set bedtime yet | No AASM recommendation under 4 months |
| 3 months | 3–4 (often 4, the last a catnap) | 1.25–2 h | 10–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | No AASM recommendation under 4 months |
| 4 months | 3–4 | 1.5–2 h | 10–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 5 months | 3 | 2–2.5 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 6 months | 3 (some days 2) | 2–3 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 7 months | 2–3 | 2.5–3.25 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 8 months | 2 | 2.5–3.5 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 9 months | 2 | 3–3.5 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 10–11 months | 2 | 3–4 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 12–16 h |
| 12–14 months | 2 | 3–4.5 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 11–14 h |
| 15–17 months (on one nap) | 1, about 1.5–3 h | 4.5–5.5 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 11–14 h |
| 18–23 months | 1, about 1.5–3 h | 5–6 h | 11–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | 11–14 h |
| 2–3 years | 1, about 1–2 h | 5–6 h | 10.5–12 h | 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. | 11–14 h at 1–2 years; 10–13 h at 3–5 years |
The AASM recommends 12–16 hours per 24 hours at 4–12 months, 11–14 hours at 1–2 years and 10–13 hours at 3–5 years, naps included. It makes no recommendation under 4 months because normal sleep varies so widely at that age. For a baby born early, many families use corrected age when reading charts like this.
When the numbers do not fit your baby
A window that is too short and one that is too long can look the same: short naps, early waking, more night waking. And when the real cause is how a baby falls asleep, no change of timing fixes it. See why naps are only 30 minutes. Telling these apart from the outside is hard, which is why parents can spend weeks adjusting the clock without a better night.
From a typical day to your baby’s day
A calculator gives an average. The hard part is getting a particular baby to follow it. That is what Actually Sleeping is for: a custom plan written by Dr. Sam, bootcamp-style coaching before the first night, daily 1:1 check-ins and naps coached until solid. The written guarantee: We guarantee that your baby will sleep 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days of consistent, correct implementation of your sleep plan. If not, you get a full refund. Parents describe how their baby’s day came together in the client video reviews. For a bedtime worked out from the AASM hours instead, use the bedtime calculator.
Book the free consultation to get a schedule built for your baby.
Want this fixed for your baby?
Actually Sleeping is 1:1 coaching: a sleep plan written for your baby by Dr. Sam, bootcamp-style coaching before the first night, and daily check-ins until it is working. 700+ families coached, 129 video reviews, and a written guarantee: 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days, or a full refund.
Frequently asked
Are wake windows evidence-based?
No. Age-based wake windows are practice conventions, useful as a starting point. The research-based figure is total sleep: the AASM recommends 12–16 hours per 24 hours at 4–12 months and 11–14 hours at 1–2 years, naps included, with no recommendation under 4 months.
Should I wake my baby to keep to the calculator’s times?
The times are an average, not a rule for your baby. Feeding on cue comes first for young babies, and your pediatrician’s advice comes before any chart. A plan from Actually Sleeping sets when to protect or cap a nap for your baby specifically.
Why does the calculator show no bedtime for newborns?
Newborn night sleep is broken by feeds and the body clock is still developing, so a bedtime worked back from wake-up time would be false precision. Bedtime tends to drift earlier on its own over the first few months.
What if my baby is somewhere between two age bands?
Look at both rows; babies move between bands gradually, not on a birthday. The ranges are averages either way. A custom plan, adjusted through daily check-ins, sets awake times for your baby rather than for an age band.