How much sleep does a 1 year old need?
A 1 year old (12–18 months) needs 11 to 14 hours of total sleep per day, including night sleep and naps. This is the recommendation from the National Sleep Foundation’s 2015 consensus, broadly stable across pediatric sleep medicine guidelines. The transition happening at this age is the shift from two naps to one — most toddlers consolidate to a single afternoon nap between 14 and 18 months, though some hold the two-nap pattern until closer to 18 months.
Sample 1 year old schedule (two-nap pattern): • 7:00 AM — wake • 9:30 AM — morning nap (45–60 min) • 1:00 PM — afternoon nap (1.5–2 hours) • 7:00 PM — bedtime Sample 1 year old schedule (one-nap pattern, post-transition): • 7:00 AM — wake • 12:30 PM — afternoon nap (1.5–2.5 hours) • 7:00 PM — bedtime
Context for a 1 year old
The single-biggest sleep change at 12–18 months is the nap consolidation. Signs it’s happening: morning nap getting harder to initiate, morning nap pushing afternoon nap later, child resisting the afternoon nap entirely on days they took a morning nap. The transition is messy — for 2–4 weeks the child may seem chronically overtired before settling into a longer single nap. Bedtime sometimes needs to shift 30 minutes earlier during the transition to compensate. Night sleep at this age is usually consolidated, but the 12-month and 18-month sleep regressions are real — both are associated with developmental leaps (walking, language) that disrupt sleep for 2–4 weeks. Don’t treat a regression as a permanent change; the previous pattern usually returns once the developmental work is done.
Want a different age?
For any other age — newborn to 65+ — use the interactive sleep-need calculator. It returns the recommended range for any age in seconds, with a midpoint target.
Questions about a 1 year old’s sleep
How many naps should a 1 year old take?
Most 1 year olds take 2 naps (morning + afternoon) until 14–18 months, then transition to a single longer afternoon nap. The transition timing varies widely — some children move at 13 months, others hold the two-nap pattern until 18 months. Follow the child’s readiness signals.
What time should a 1 year old go to bed?
Between 6:30 and 8:00 PM for most 1 year olds, with 7:00 PM as the common median. The right bedtime depends on the morning wake time — aim for 10–12 hours of night sleep. A 7 PM bedtime with a 6:30 AM wake gives 11.5 hours of night sleep, which is in the ideal range.
Why is my 1 year old waking up at night?
Common causes at this age: 12-month or 18-month sleep regression (developmental leap), teething (molars come in between 13 and 19 months), illness, separation anxiety peaking around 12–15 months, or an outgrown nap schedule. Most night wakings at 1 year are short and self-resolving — going in too quickly can train longer wakings.
Is 10 hours of sleep enough for a 1 year old?
Below the recommended range — the National Sleep Foundation suggests 11–14 hours total per 24 hours. A 1 year old getting only 10 hours total (night + nap) is likely overtired, with effects that may show as crankiness, harder bedtimes, and shorter overall sleep duration due to elevated cortisol. Aim to add 1–2 hours either via an earlier bedtime or longer nap.