Sleep Hours by Age
Check recommended total nightly sleep against a child's age.
About Sleep Hours by Age
Sleep experts publish total-nightly targets that fall as children grow, from roughly fourteen to seventeen hours for newborns down to eight to ten for teens. The calculator picks the band for the child's age and measures tonight's actual hours against it. Consistently missing the sleep target shows up in mood, focus and health, so a simple comparison helps families spot a real problem early.
Formula
Sleep Hours by Age
Recommended nightly hours by age band: newborn 17, 1 yr 14, 2 yr 13, 3 yr 12, 4 yr 11, school-age 10, teens 9
- age band
- Grouped sleep needs by developmental stage
Worked example
With the default values below, Sleep Hours by Age returns Recommended Hours of 10.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Child age (years)accepts 0–18
- 6
- Current nightly hoursaccepts 0–24
- 8
Results
- Recommended Hours
- 10.0 hrs
- Hours Below Target
- 2.0 hrs
- Verdict
- Below target hours
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Sleep Hours by Age
- 3Recommended Hours= 10.0 hrs
- 4Hours Below Target= 2.0 hrs
- 5Verdict= Below target hours
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- Sleep needs vary between children; use ranges as a guide, not a diagnosis.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Sleep needs vary between children; use ranges as a guide, not a diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Sleep Hours by Age calculated?
Recommended nightly hours by age band: newborn 17, 1 yr 14, 2 yr 13, 3 yr 12, 4 yr 11, school-age 10, teens 9 Sleep experts publish total-nightly targets that fall as children grow, from roughly fourteen to seventeen hours for newborns down to eight to ten for teens. The calculator picks the band for the child's age and measures tonight's actual hours against it.
Why does Sleep Hours by Age matter?
Consistently missing the sleep target shows up in mood, focus and health, so a simple comparison helps families spot a real problem early.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 2 inputs: Child age (years), Current nightly hours. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.