Full healthy sleep is the key to the normal development of a newborn baby. How long does a newborn baby sleep during the day.

As soon as a newborn child appears in the family, the life of young parents changes dramatically. For some mothers, the days after birth become a continuous paradise, when their baby sleeps almost all day, but for others, on the contrary, the baby does not fall asleep well during the day and often wakes up at night. And it happens that one mother is worried that her child sleeps too much, and the other, on the contrary, that too little. So let's figure out how many hours babies sleep per day? What are the norms of sleep in children immediately after birth?

Why do newborns sleep so many hours?

All children are different, even from birth, all babies are different from each other, even in such crumbs you can see the beginnings of a future character. The same applies to sleep, some babies need to sleep more than 20 hours a day, and some, on the contrary, are awake a lot and sleep little. Why is this happening? The thing is that each child has a different structure of the brain, respectively, different physiological characteristics and habits. Therefore, it depends only on the crumbs themselves. Often after giving birth, the baby sleeps at night for 8 hours, without even waking up for feeding. However, some experts believe that this is a deviation, the newborn must wake up at night in order to eat. And if he does not eat on time, it can harm his health.

It is believed that a child who is breastfed should wake up every 3-4 hours to eat, so he sleeps no more than 20 hours a day. When the baby is rarely awake, eats little and spends a lot of time sleeping, he may be at risk of dehydration, which over time can turn into hypoglycemia and jaundice. To prevent this phenomenon, the baby must be applied to the chest every 3-4 hours.

There are several reasons why a newborn may sleep for a very long time:

  • difficult childbirth. Always during childbirth with complications, various drugs are introduced into the body of the mother giving birth, which have a sedative effect on the baby, and after childbirth, such children can sleep soundly for several days or even weeks;
  • a woman incorrectly puts her baby to her breast. If the baby does not take the breast correctly, he quickly gets tired, because. he spends a lot of energy on a futile attempt to suck milk. A tired baby quickly falls asleep under the breast and then sleeps for quite a long time;
  • nipple structure. It happens that it is difficult for the baby to grab the mother's nipple, all attempts are very tiring for him, and he falls asleep from fatigue.

Newborn sleep rate

How much should a baby sleep right after birth? Average statistically, the baby after birth should sleep up to 18-20 hours a day. During sleep, the baby digests food and gains strength for the next feeding, which occurs every 3-4 hours. Frequent meals are due to the fact that the baby has a too small stomach, and breast milk is quickly digested.

Naturally, parents do not record the time and do not sit near their baby, counting how much he sleeps. However, the norm of sleep must be adhered to, the only exceptions are those periods when the newborn is tormented intestinal colic, intracranial pressure or temperature during a cold, and so on. These phenomena significantly reduce the duration of sleep and affect the psyche of the infant. Therefore, parents need to carefully monitor how many hours their child sleeps, otherwise carelessness can lead to various pathologies.

How long should a night's sleep last?

On average, at night, a child should sleep up to 8 hours with awakenings for feeding. Babies usually wake up on their own to feed on their mother's milk. You can’t even call this an awakening, the mother is nearby, and as soon as the baby gives a signal, she feeds him right there, the baby most often eats in half-asleep.

Some experts believe that a newborn should sleep next to his mother at night, feeling the warmth of his mother's body, her caress and care, he will sleep much better, and it is easier for a woman to feed a baby.

Also, many pediatricians believe that if a child does not wake up every 3-5 hours at night, then it is necessary to wake him up or consult a doctor if this phenomenon has become constant. Every parent should know what the baby needs to eat at night to avoid dehydration.

Sleep norms for children under six months of age

The older children get, the more they have a period of wakefulness, and the less they sleep. How much sleep should babies sleep before 6 months after birth?

On average, babies sleep per day:

1 month of life: daily duration is 16-20 hours;

2 months of life: 14-17 hours;

3 months life: 13-15 hours;

4 months life: 12-14 hours;

5 months life: 12-13 hours;

Six months of life: 10-11 hours.

However, these are average norms, each newborn is individual, and can sleep more than the norm, or, conversely, less.

We learned how much a baby should sleep in the first month after birth, and now consider the question: What conditions for the crumbs are the most comfortable?

  1. Is silence necessary? Some mothers try to lay the baby in absolute silence, but do not forget that in the mother's womb the child almost never was without any sounds. Therefore, you should not create a complete sound vacuum for the baby so that he falls into a dream.
  2. Darkness during the day. Sometimes mothers, in order for their baby to fall asleep faster during the day, tightly close the curtains, it is better not to do this. The child must have an internal biological clock, i.e. it should be light during the day and dark at night. Otherwise, the baby may confuse day with night.
  3. In a soft bed and on a pillow. In order to avoid sudden infant death syndrome, the infant's mattress should be hard, and the pillow does not appear until after two years.
  4. The room must be warm. For a comfortable sleep in the baby's room, the temperature is set at around 22 degrees Celsius, and the humidity is up to 70%.


Why won't my one month old baby sleep?

There are times when the baby does not want to sleep, which greatly exhausts the parents. There are several reasons for the baby to worry during sleep:

  • Too hot, not humid enough. Check if the room is very stuffy, quiet and healthy sleep a child is possible at a temperature of 20-22 degrees and an air humidity of 50-70%;
  • perhaps the diaper has leaked, or the baby is uncomfortable in the clothes in which he sleeps;
  • uncomfortable sleeping position. Sometimes babies choose the most comfortable position for themselves during sleep, if the mother put it in a different way, the baby did not like it, and he refuses to sleep.

Now it is known that how much a newborn sleeps depends on many factors: the individual characteristics of the child, comfortable temperature and humidity of air, clothes, closeness with mother. However, parents should still adhere to the average sleep rate in order to avoid negative consequences for the health of the crumbs.

Many mothers often ask the same question: "How much sleep should a newborn baby?". In fact, only the baby himself can answer this seemingly simple question. Some children sleep a lot, some, on the contrary, not enough. If the baby is often outdoors, well-groomed, well-fed, he himself will be able to decide how much sleep he needs and is useful.

How much should newborns sleep in the first month of life

There is a fairly popular misconception that all babies sleep all the time, taking waking breaks only for feeding. In fact, indeed, many babies sleep almost all day, but there are children who prefer to be awake from birth, and this is not necessarily associated with poor health, malnutrition or any other diseases. It's just the way the individual physiology of a small person works.

You need to understand that your child has a different physiology

Every child has their own sleep schedule, so it's almost impossible to say exactly how much sleep a child gets in a month or two. The older your child gets, the more time he spends awake, gradually reducing the time for sleep. At the same time, by the end of the first year of life, the baby will sleep only 1-2 times a day, more and more rejoicing at awakening, because it is when he is awake that he learns the world.

The question of how much a newborn sleeps is often raised by parents who are worried about the health of the baby. Indeed, if the baby practically does not sleep during the day, one can draw conclusions about the presence of any problems with his health, primarily with nutrition. However, before sounding the alarm, it is worth consulting with the attending pediatrician so as not to take rash decisions. In any case, if the baby is not bothered by anything, he is joyful and cheerful, his tummy is not swollen from colic and gas, and is also normal - it is hardly worth worrying about how much sleep he should month old baby. His body knows better and if he overworks, the baby will simply fall asleep in a calm and peaceful sleep.


The baby can sleep all day long, or, on the contrary, can devote a minimum of time to this activity.

In any case, statistics show that newborn babies usually sleep between 18 and 22 hours a day. By two or three months, this number begins to decline rapidly: the baby spends more time on games and learning about the world, communicating with parents than on sleep. More communication with mom and dad makes it possible to quickly develop and learn new things about the world around them - with such curiosity, parents will be able to hear much earlier than they themselves expect.

Indicators of the norm of sleep per day for children of different ages

When it comes to when to start worrying about a child's health and well-being, associating it with poor sleep, there are a few things that need to be defined. Firstly, you should always observe the baby and compare his physical condition, temperature, skin and eye color with what these parameters were always in the normal state of the baby. Every mother feels when her baby simply does not want to sleep, or when he is tormented by colic and he simply cannot fall asleep. There is a big difference in this! If the baby sleeps little for a month, but feels comfortable and good at the same time, there is no reason for concern, he is simply too inquisitive and his body does not want to sleep all day. But if the child loses weight, is constantly naughty from fatigue, cannot sleep peacefully, you should consult a doctor for examination and advice. Only a qualified specialist, having examined the baby, will be able to give an exact answer how much he should sleep. infant in your particular case.

How much should a newborn baby sleep between feedings? It's pretty frequently asked question pediatrician from young parents dreaming of sleep. The baby needs to be fed day and night. It turns out that his mom and dad don’t have time for sleep at all. But for those whose baby sleeps for a very long time, you should not rejoice. Such a dream threatens to dehydrate the body.

Why does the baby sleep for a long time?

A baby who has just been born sleeps really a lot. The average duration of his sleep is from 15 to 20 hours a day. But one should also take into account the nuance that sleep must necessarily be interrupted for feeding. Between meals, ideally, no more than 1.5-2 hours pass.

Since the baby's stomach has a small volume, it needs to be fed little, but often. Breast milk very quickly absorbed by the body of a newborn, and therefore its reserves must be replenished in time. If a child sleeps for more than 5 hours in a row, this means that he does not have enough food, and therefore vitality, or he is sick. In this case, you should measure the baby's body temperature and, if necessary, immediately consult a doctor.

You should also take into account the fact that after using strong medications during childbirth with complications, the baby can also sleep for a long time. This is due to the fact that the drugs may have an effect on nervous system baby. Therefore, their use had a sedative effect on the child. In this case, you should consult a doctor about this. This phenomenon usually goes away on its own, but there are exceptions when the intervention of a pediatrician is vital.

Back to index

Harm of long sleep for a newborn

Since feeding is often postponed due to prolonged sleep, there are a number of dangerous consequences that can even threaten his life. If the baby does not wake up on time, and therefore does not eat or defecate, then this may indicate some kind of deviation. In such cases, you should seek help from experienced professionals. Often this mode of the baby can create many additional problems.

Among them, pediatricians identify such problems as:

  1. Dehydration.
  2. Weight loss.
  3. Difficulty breathing.

Remember that every child is unique. This also applies to his sleep. Some babies sleep more, some less.

Many pediatricians believe that the baby knows better when and what he needs to do. Little children obey their biological clock. And so they wake up exactly when they really need it.

If a child was born small, he should be fed more often and more abundantly than someone who was born with a normal weight.

But it will be more difficult for him to wake up than the second baby. Do not force feed your baby. He eats as much as his stomach allows.

Back to index

Danger of dehydration

Dehydration itself is dangerous in that it can be fatal. In order to prevent this in any case, it is imperative to wake the baby after 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This must be done delicately and extremely carefully, as he may be frightened. The ideal sleep phase for an infant to wake up is active.

In order to make it easy to recognize, you should carefully look at the baby. If in a dream he waves his arms and legs, his eyelids actively move and even his eyes open slightly, and on his face one expression is quickly replaced by another, then this is exactly what you need. It is worth touching his shoulder or slowly running a warm hand over it. The child will gradually wake up. The lighting in the room should be dimmed.

Before feeding, the mother must adhere to strict hygiene. If the nipples are too hard and the baby cannot draw milk out of them, it is recommended to express the breast in advance, then it will be a little softer. But in the case when nothing changes, it is better to feed the baby from a bottle. Malnutrition is fraught with consequences, as is dehydration.

Back to index

Weight loss due to prolonged sleep

After giving birth, small children usually lose some weight. But if after the first week of life the baby continues to lose weight, then the reason may be hiding in his too long sleep. To prevent a decrease in the weight of the baby, it is worth waking him up every 2-3 hours after the last feeding.


Even if the baby refuses to eat, it is necessary to give him a breast in a half-asleep state. Awakening requires an additional expenditure of energy from him.

Children during this period are very weak, they need a lot of energy for their harmonious development. Therefore, they do not always manage to wake up on time. This applies to feeding in the first half of the day. The maximum gap between feedings at night should not exceed 5 hours. After this time, the child experiences strong feelings hunger and thirst, which will lead to dehydration.

Night feeding should be a little less frequent, but much more satisfying, so that the baby has enough strength for a full, healthy sleep. If earlier the child slept for 2-3 hours, and then suddenly began to sleep more, this may indicate that he does not have enough milk. In this case, it is worth considering the choice baby food. Breast milk can be replaced artificial nutrition not completely, but only partially.


Babies are limited in their abilities, and therefore special attention is paid to all their activities, including how much a newborn should sleep. They do nothing aimlessly, there is a reason for their desire to fall asleep or not to do so. The main task of parents is to hear the baby in time and help him solve his problems.

Why sleep is important

There are good reasons why nature has programmed infants to sleep long hours.

  • To protect against physical overwork, which can weaken the immune system.
  • Help to carefully and gradually assimilate information, allowing mental development stay within the normal range. In particular, to avoid subsequent hyperactivity or hyperfatigue.
  • Recharging the body with forces, providing time for the harmonization of all body systems.
  • Children's brain training.

The ratio of REM and restful sleep in children is fundamentally different from adult proportions. For the first month, they use only active (REM) sleep, during which dream pictures pass through the brain. This helps to train and stimulate the brain, while at the same time relieving mental and emotional stress, serving as a kind of filter for the information received. Physical features of sleep can be observed in the eyes of a child. Often they are open or semi-open, in constant motion.

Depending on development, newborn babies begin to experience restful (slow-wave) sleep at 1, 2, or 3 months. It requires a fairly mature brain, divided into stages, as in adults. At the stage of deep sleep, the child, unlike adults, practically does not react to loud sounds and light, moving away from the outside world. At this time, there is a maximum relaxation on the physical level.

Only after falling asleep, a child of this age is at the stage of superficial sleep, so you should not shift him to rest in another place - most likely, he will wake up.


0-2 months

Already the first week allows us to say that food and rest - main activity child in given period. After the birth of the norm of sleep - 17-18 hours a day. Gradually, the duration decreases and can reach 16 hours in two months.

In the first month, the baby wakes up only to eat, but every week the wakefulness period gradually increases from half an hour to an hour and a half. In some cases, it can reach two hours, but long periods are harmful to the psyche of this age and have a bad effect on health. Most likely, the baby is worried about something, and you can find the reason by carefully observing him.

As for night sleep, newborns should not sleep soundly all night. Small ventricles cannot hold much food, and a sleeping baby may wake up hungry 1 or 2 times a night. This is fine. A lot depends on both the parents and the child. It is possible to accustom to a night sleep regime as early as 2 weeks, turning off the lights, removing noises, refusing to play at night. Thus, the baby will begin to distinguish day from night, feel the time of day and prepare for a long sleep. However, you should not expect that the result will be visible already in 3 weeks.

How much a newborn baby should sleep from feeding to feeding at night depends on many factors, including the caloric content of the meal.

Experts recommend not to tie sleep to feeding, not to rock the baby, so that there are no unnecessary bindings. Sometimes the baby sleeps in bed with the parents, which is permissible in the presence of a nocturnal breastfeeding but not recommended. And this is provided that it is guaranteed that an accident cannot occur. Subsequently, this habit must be weaned.


3-6 months

How much newborns sleep during this period depends on the development of the child and his state of health. Typically, sleep time reaches 15 hours a day, with about 10 hours at night. Sometimes 1 night feeding remains relevant, but many babies refuse, diligently waiting for their breakfast.

Ritual time. At 3 months, children are sufficiently developed to understand pleasant evening moments. It can be:

  • baths with baby foam or herbs;
  • mother's lullabies;
  • the same pleasant, calm music;
  • reading or telling fairy tales in a special "fabulous" voice - quietly and slowly pronouncing the words;
  • obligatory kiss goodnight.

They are allotted the same time, the same conditions. Even if at first glance the energy of the baby can be envied, in fact he is tired and will quickly fall asleep in his usual surroundings.

The third month usually brings gum problems. If the child does not sleep well, the cause may be teeth that begin to erupt at this age. Moms should examine the oral cavity. If the gums are swollen, the baby is naughty and does not sleep well, it is better to contact a pediatrician. Modern pharmacology allows the use of harmless and effective means, which will reliably get rid of pain little sufferer.

A newborn baby should sleep at night, but not in the morning. If night sleep is delayed, it is better to arrange a gentle but convincing rise. This sets the correct mode. It is difficult for a child who has slept for a long time to fall asleep 2 times during the day. If the tiny organism is awake for too long, it will be excessively tired, overloaded both physically and mentally.


6-9 months

You can be glad how much a newborn baby sleeps after six months. Almost every mommy is guaranteed about 7 hours of deep sleep. With night feedings, it is better not to pester the child. Long sleep is good for the body, and sleeping on a full tummy at this age is already unpleasant.

In total, the rest takes about 14 hours. How much the baby should sleep in the daytime, he decides for himself, but it is important to leave 2 gaps that will help ensure proper rest, and, therefore, full development during the wakefulness period.

It is important at this age to follow some rules.

  1. Definitely introduce rituals, if they have not been so far, and adhere to them strictly. The benefits for both children and parents are obvious.
  2. Start developing self-reliance in going to bed.
  3. Many new motor skills can cause nighttime crying. The curious creature sits up in the crib, but forgets how to lie back down. Timely help is enough to bring peace back.


9-12 months

When you know how to sit down and crawl, you slowly rise to your feet and begin to explore the world want everything at once. Play more and move more, sleep longer at night. How much sleep a child should have depends on how busy his day was. In general, 14 hours a day remains the norm, of which 10–12 are spent at night, the rest is divided approximately equally into 2 daytime rests. Some sleepyheads try to rest longer in the morning and sleep 1 time in the afternoon. Unfortunately, this can lead to low activity of the child, as a result of which development can be stunted.

You need to lay according to the regime, but wake up only in the morning. This allows you to maintain full-fledged daytime islands of calm.

In the daytime, you need to watch the games of the crumbs. If the activity is high, while nervousness is not observed, there was enough time to sleep. If the conclusions are disappointing, it is worth figuring out when there was not enough rest and making the necessary adjustments. In general, the main direction of work is the same as in the previous period, only in a more developed state.
"owl" or "lark"

It is important not only how much sleep the children should have, but also when to put the babies to sleep at night. Indeed, even from infancy, preferences are noticeable, but it is quite possible to correct the internal clock. The problem is that modern children have to be socially adjusted with early age. Kindergartens and schools require early attendance and a certain level of concentration.


There is one more aspect. Studies have shown that a person receives a complete physical rest only in the first half of the night, and no matter how many hours later the child sleeps, the quantity will not turn into quality and the body will not be able to replace the lost precious hours. What's the point then of trying to adjust to the late laying of the crumbs, if it makes him feel worse?

The weekly regimen will already create enough associations to change the time of falling asleep, but some stubborn people may need more time, sometimes 3 weeks, at the most difficult cases up to 2 months. But the result will be achieved.
How much a little man should be awake, and how much to sleep, depends on many factors. But in order for his life to be happy, and his sleep calm and sound, he needs parental care. Calm, confident hands, gentle gentle voice, constant attention of mom and dad. Then it will be comfortable to sleep and wake up joyfully.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AFTER BIRTH?

The most beloved and long-awaited child was born, and with it OVERWEIGHT. But worries about the child do not leave time either for themselves or for gyms. And most diets can have dangerous consequences for both mom and baby.

But I really want to put on my favorite dress, high heels again and look great, as before ... There is a way out - moms' stories about how easy it is to lose 20+ KILO!


Immediately after childbirth, the life of every mother changes dramatically. Now she first needs to take care of little man, her child. If the first child was born, then a young mother may be worried that their baby sleeps almost around the clock, so we will try to answer this common question (how much a newborn baby should normally sleep in the first days of life).

How many hours a day does a newborn baby sleep


How much time a newborn sleeps may depend on the emotional situation in the family. If the mother has to do everything else in addition to caring for the baby, as before homework She is very exhausted and tired. The child after childbirth has a close connection with the mother, so her anxiety will also affect his emotional state. He can wake up every half an hour, demanding care, attention, mother's affection. Such a lack of regimen will quickly exhaust all forces. Therefore, in order to maintain healthy sleep for yourself and your child, create coziness and comfort in your home.