Wake windows by age.
A wake window is how long a baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps, counted from the moment they wake to the moment they fall asleep again. It runs from roughly 35–60 minutes in the newborn weeks to 4 hours or more by 18 months. Enter your baby's age below for the range, or read the full chart.
Wake window
1h 30m – 2h 15m
Awake time between sleeps
Naps per day
3–4
Typical at this age
Sleep in 24h
12–16h
AASM recommendation
Add a wake-up time to get the suggested next nap window.
4–5 months: The first age with a formal sleep-duration recommendation behind it. Naps usually begin settling into a rough three-nap shape.
One thing most wake window charts leave out
There is no official AAP wake window chart. Wake windows are a practitioner heuristic, built from average sleep totals and research on overtiredness — useful, widely used, but not a clinical guideline, and published ranges differ between sources.
Total sleep is a different matter. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine publishes formal recommendations for ages 4 months and up, endorsed by the AAP. Below 4 months it makes no recommendation at all, citing insufficient evidence — so a chart that gives you a precise newborn sleep total is telling you more than anyone actually knows.
The full chart
Wake window and nap figures are the range spanned by published sources. Total sleep is the AASM recommendation where one exists.
| Age | Wake window | Naps / day | Sleep in 24h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 weeks | 35m – 1h | 4–6+ | No recommendation |
| 1–2 months | 45m – 1h 15m | 4–5 | No recommendation |
| 2–3 months | 1h – 1h 30m | 4 | No recommendation |
| 3–4 months | 1h 15m – 2h | 3–4 | No recommendation |
| 4–5 months | 1h 30m – 2h 15m | 3–4 | 12–16 hours |
| 5–6 months | 2h – 2h 30m | 3 | 12–16 hours |
| 6–7 months | 2h – 2h 45m | 3 | 12–16 hours |
| 7–9 months | 2h 30m – 3h 15m | 2–3 | 12–16 hours |
| 9–12 months | 2h 45m – 4h | 2 | 12–16 hours |
| 12–18 months | 3h – 4h 30m | 1–2 | 11–14 hours |
| 18–24 months | 4h – 6h | 1 | 11–14 hours |
What changes, age by age
0–4 weeks
35m – 1hNewborns rarely stay awake longer than a feed and a change. Sleep is spread across the whole 24 hours rather than organized around day and night, and that is expected at this stage.
1–2 months
45m – 1h 15mWindows stretch slightly, but they are still short. Most of the awake time is a feed, a diaper change, and a brief alert period before the next sleep.
2–3 months
1h – 1h 30mThe first hints of a pattern. Night sleep starts consolidating into longer stretches for some babies, though it is normal for it not to yet.
3–4 months
1h 15m – 2hSleep architecture changes around this point, which is what parents recognize as the 4-month sleep regression. Wake windows lengthen while naps often get shorter and less predictable.
4–5 months
1h 30m – 2h 15mThe first age with a formal sleep-duration recommendation behind it. Naps usually begin settling into a rough three-nap shape.
5–6 months
2h – 2h 30mThree reasonably predictable naps is typical. The window before bedtime is often slightly longer than the earlier ones.
6–7 months
2h – 2h 45mMany babies are on the edge of dropping to two naps. A third nap that starts refusing to happen is usually the signal.
7–9 months
2h 30m – 3h 15mThe two-nap schedule usually lands here. Expect the transition itself to be messy for a couple of weeks before it settles.
9–12 months
2h 45m – 4hTwo solid naps, with a noticeably longer window before bedtime than before the first nap.
12–18 months
3h – 4h 30mThe one-nap transition. It rarely happens cleanly — most toddlers need two naps on some days and one on others for several weeks.
18–24 months
4h – 6hA single midday nap, with long windows either side of it.
Watch the baby, not the clock.
A wake window tells you roughly when to start looking. Your baby tells you when it's actually time. Sleepy cues usually show up in this order:
- 1Losing interest in people and toys
- 2Staring into the middle distance
- 3Yawning, eye rubbing, ear pulling
- 4Red-rimmed eyes, jerky movements
- 5Arching, fussing, and hard crying
By the last stage a baby is usually overtired, which tends to make settling harder rather than easier. Starting the wind-down around the first or second cue is generally the easier path.
Averages are a starting point. Your baby has their own pattern.
A chart can only tell you what babies do on average. Two weeks of your own logged sleep tells you what your baby does — and Cradle Log predicts the next nap from that, rather than from a table.
Free on iPhone. No account, works offline.
Common questions
What is a wake window?
A wake window is the length of time a baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps, measured from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep again. It includes feeding, changing, and play. Wake windows get longer as babies get older, from roughly 35 to 60 minutes in the newborn weeks to 4 hours or more by 18 months.
Are wake windows an official medical guideline?
No. There is no official American Academy of Pediatrics wake window chart. Wake windows are a practitioner heuristic derived from average sleep totals and research on overtiredness, and published ranges vary between sources. Total sleep duration is different: the American Academy of Sleep Medicine publishes formal recommendations for ages 4 months and up, endorsed by the AAP.
How long should a 4 month old be awake between naps?
Most published ranges put a 4 to 5 month old at roughly 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes of awake time between sleeps, across 3 to 4 naps a day. Around this age sleep architecture changes, which is what parents recognize as the 4-month sleep regression, so windows often become less predictable for a few weeks.
How much total sleep should my baby get?
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours for infants 4 to 12 months, and 11 to 14 hours for children 1 to 2 years, including naps. AASM makes no recommendation for infants under 4 months, citing insufficient evidence, so any chart giving a precise figure for newborns is going beyond what the research supports.
What happens if a wake window is too long?
An overtired baby often becomes harder to settle rather than easier, and may take shorter naps or wake more overnight. The practical signal is not the clock but the baby: watch for eye rubbing, ear pulling, staring, yawning, and loss of interest in play, and start the wind-down when those appear rather than waiting for the window to elapse.
Do wake windows work for every baby?
No. They are averages, and healthy babies vary widely on either side of them. Sleep needs also shift day to day with growth, illness, and development. Use the range as a starting point and adjust based on what your own baby's pattern shows over a week or two.
Sources
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine — Child Sleep Duration Health Advisory
Sleep-duration recommendations for ages 4 months and up. Endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Paruthi et al., Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (2016) — consensus statement methodology
The methodology and evidence review behind the duration recommendations, including why no recommendation is made below 4 months.
- Sleep.com — wake windows by age
One of the two published range sets triangulated for this chart.
- The Baby Sleep Site — wake windows by age
The second published range set triangulated for this chart.
This page is general information, not medical advice. Every baby is different, and sleep patterns vary widely among healthy infants. If you have concerns about your baby's sleep, breathing, feeding, or growth, speak to your pediatrician or health visitor.