guides
How Much Sleep Does a Child Need? Hours by Age, 1 to 12
How much sleep does a child need? See UK sleep hours for ages 1 to 12, how naps count and how to work back from the morning alarm.
How many hours of sleep should you allow at each age?
The NHS suggests about 12 hours in 24, including naps, for ages 3 to 5; The Sleep Charity gives 10 to 11 hours a night for ages 7 to 12. For your own child, start with their age, then work backwards from the morning alarm to an asleep time, with the routine beforehand.
The counting column matters. A whole day's sleep and a night's sleep aren't interchangeable.
- 1 year, Sleep guide: Around 12 to 15 hours; What the figure includes: Sleep across 24 hours, including naps; Source: NHS
- 2 years, Sleep guide: About 12 to 14 hours; What the figure includes: Sleep across 24 hours, including naps; Source: NHS
- 3 to 5 years, Sleep guide: About 12 hours; What the figure includes: Sleep across 24 hours, including naps; Source: NHS
- 6 years, Sleep guide: 10 to 12 hours; What the figure includes: Night-time sleep, from the charity's 3 to 6 age group; Source: The Sleep Charity
- 7 to 12 years, Sleep guide: 10 to 11 hours; What the figure includes: Night-time sleep; Source: The Sleep Charity
The Sleep Charity describes its figures as a guide and recognises that individual children need different amounts. Use the table as a starting point for planning your evenings.
How does the morning alarm set bedtime?
Start with the time your child has to get up, subtract the sleep you're planning for, then leave room beforehand for settling and the routine. Keep 'in bed' and 'asleep' separate: The Sleep Charity's diary records both, because they're different points in the evening.
Here's an illustrative calculation for a seven-year-old:
- Choose the wake-up time: 7am.
- Choose a sleep target: using 11 hours from The Sleep Charity's range gives an asleep time of 8pm.
- Allow their usual settling time: if that's 15 minutes, lights out would be 7.45pm.
- Put the routine before lights out: washing, pyjamas and the story need their own space in the evening.
The 15 minutes is an assumption for this example. Use what you notice about your own child when you make your plan.
An 8pm bedtime only gives 11 hours before 7am if sleep starts at 8pm. Time spent awake during the night also comes out of the total.
Write down your calculation before changing the evening. If you'd like help fitting it around family life, see our guide to choosing children's bedtimes.
Is 9pm too late for your seven-year-old?
For a seven-year-old waking at 7am, 9pm can fit if they're asleep then and stay asleep: that allows 10 hours, the bottom of The Sleep Charity's guide. With a 6am alarm the following morning, the same asleep time allows just 9 hours.
Check what 'bedtime' means in your house. In an illustrative evening where the child gets into bed at 9pm but falls asleep at 9.30pm, a 7am start leaves 9 hours and 30 minutes of sleep, before any night waking.
That distinction gives you something concrete to adjust. Write down when the story ends and when sleep starts. Then look at whether dinner, washing or the story could begin earlier, so the routine fits before your target asleep time.
Do nursery naps change the bedtime calculation?
For the NHS totals covering ages 1 to 5, naps are part of the daily amount. Ask nursery when your child slept and for how long, then put that beside your night-time notes. That way you're counting the same full day when you compare home days and nursery days.
For example, a three-year-old who sleeps from 7.30pm to 6.30am has slept for 11 hours, assuming no time awake overnight. A nap from 1pm to 2pm adds another hour, making 12 hours altogether.
The NHS advises avoiding long afternoon naps. Record the nap's timing as well as its length if bedtime is proving difficult.
Ask whoever looks after your child to pass on the actual nap times. A note saying 'slept from 1pm to 2pm' gives you more to work with than 'had a good nap'.
What if the hours look right but mornings don't?
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust says ongoing tiredness, sleepiness or low energy can suggest too little sleep, and that sleep problems can affect concentration and mood. Look beyond the overnight total: write down how mornings, nursery or school, and evenings are actually going.
The Sleep Charity suggests keeping a sleep diary for around two weeks, including sleep times, night waking, naps and how your child seems the next day.
Keep the notes manageable:
- Morning: when they woke and how they seemed.
- Daytime: any naps and observations from nursery or school.
- Evening: when the routine began, lights went out and sleep seemed to start.
- Overnight: any waking you noticed and roughly how long it lasted.
You don't need to spend the night watching the clock. Make the best estimate you can and mark it as an estimate. Take the notes with you if you ask for support.
What can you change without turning bedtime upside down?
Make the earlier bedtime a sequence you can repeat. The Sleep Charity recommends a regular routine with consistent waking times, ideally beginning about an hour before sleep. Write your plan where whoever is doing bedtime can see it, then choose a familiar, simple order.
If your child currently falls asleep much later, the NHS suggests starting a wind-down around 30 minutes before their usual asleep time and moving it earlier by 5 to 10 minutes each week. Work towards the calculated bedtime gradually.
For the seven-year-old example above, a routine could look like this once you're aiming for sleep at 8pm:
- 7pm: screens off, as The Sleep Charity recommends at the start of the routine.
- 7pm to 7.05pm: choose a short story, quiet drawing or familiar floor poses together.
- 7.05pm to 7.30pm: washing, teeth and pyjamas.
- 7.30pm to 7.45pm: a book together.
- 7.45pm: lights out, allowing the example's 15 minutes to settle.
Swap the activities to suit your household. Our bedtime routine for ages 3 to 8 offers more ways to organise the evening, and our screen time and sleep guide focuses on switching off.
If your child chooses floor poses for that opening five minutes, explore Freedom Flow for your bedtime routine. For ages 3 to 8, it has 15 numbered poses laser-engraved into the surface, with a sequence that's mostly on the floor.
When is it time to ask for help with sleep?
Sheffield City Council's sleep guidance advises speaking to your GP or health visitor if you're worried, sleep difficulties are affecting family life, or your child is unusually tired during the day. You can ask for help while you're working on the routine.
Bring your notes about sleep and waking, plus anything nursery or school has noticed. The Sleep Charity says a sleep diary can provide useful information for a health professional.
Be specific about the practical difficulty: getting to sleep, staying asleep or getting through the following day.
Frequently asked questions
How much sleep does a five-year-old need?
The NHS guide is about 12 hours across the day and night, including naps. For planning, write down the morning alarm, any nap, and the time your five-year-old actually falls asleep. You'll then have something useful to work with when deciding whether bedtime needs to move.
Is four hours of sleep enough for a child?
No. Four hours is far below the NHS guide for children. If that's the total your child is regularly getting, speak to your GP or health visitor, as Sheffield City Council advises when a child's sleep is causing concern. Take notes about when they're asleep and awake.
Should children have the same bedtime at weekends?
The Sleep Charity recommends consistent bedtimes and wake-up times, including at weekends. Put the routine somewhere everyone looking after your child can see it, and agree who is doing which part. For example, one grown-up might handle washing and pyjamas while another reads the story. The shared plan matters more than who holds the book.
When should I talk to a GP about my child's sleep?
Speak to your GP or health visitor if you're worried, sleep problems are affecting family life, or your child is unusually tired during the day, as Sheffield City Council advises. The Sleep Charity suggests keeping a sleep diary to share with a professional. Bring what you've recorded so far.
