Have you ever wondered if your child is getting the appropriate amount of sleep for their age? I have! In 2016, the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) endorsed the recommendations made by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). You can find those recommendations below.
By reviewing them you can get a good idea of whether or not your child is sleeping enough. The ranges are quite large, but it is still a great starting point.
If you have no idea how much sleep your child gets in a 24-hour period, I suggest that you start a sleep log and fill it out for one week. Sleep logs should include your child’s wake-up time, the total hours that they slept for naps, as well as the total hours that they slept overnight. If your child wakes at night, you would keep track of the length of time they are awake and subtract the amount from their 24-hour total.
After doing a week of a sleep log review your numbers and if your child is not getting the proper amount of sleep for their age, think about how you can adjust their schedule or behavior to do so. The easiest way to catch up on sleep is to get your child to bed earlier. If that is not possible due to work schedules or activities, allowing for a longer nap during the day (if they still nap) or allowing for catch up sleep on the weekends can make an enormous difference. And if troubleshooting using an earlier bedtime, longer naps or makeup sleep on the weekends doesn’t work, Rockabye Rockies is always available for a sleep consultation and support!
• Infants 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.