Is your baby getting enough sleep?

Touchwood, my little Lady Gaga loves her sleep—she just needs to be on her tummy. When other moms talk about little ones crying through the night, I always feel grateful that we managed to avoid a sleep crisis. I still dread nights when she curls into a ball, struggling with infant gas, or the midday disruptions when a guest rings the doorbell.

A baby’s sleep is a quiet obsession that routinely robs parents of their own rest. Across playgrounds and parenting forums, the conversation inevitably circles back to the same unanswered questions: is my baby’s sleep pattern healthy and at what point can those crucial daytime naps become optional?

Experts say that the sleep requirement of a baby drastically varies as they grow. As per the American Academy of Pediatrics, three daily naps are recommended for infants aged up to 3 months, which drops to two naps for those aged 4 to 11 months, and eventually reduces to a single nap for toddlers aged 1 to 2 years.

During the first three months, an infant needs a minimum of 11 hours of sleep, though the ideal recommended range is 14 to 17 hours. This minimum baseline drops to 10 hours for infants aged 4 to 11 months, where 12 to 15 hours is optimal.

As children reach 1 to 2 years of age, the minimum required sleep can be reduced to nine hours; however, the recommended window is 11 to 14 hours. For preschoolers aged 3 to 5 years, the baseline slips to eight hours, even as the recommended target remains 9 to 11 hours. For children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years, the mandatory baseline sits at seven hours, while the recommended standard is 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.

Sleep is the ultimate recovery tool for children, says Dr Sohail V. Seyad, a paediatrician in Kochi. Inadequate sleep can disrupt the body's natural healing process, the brain’s ability to consolidate memories and the immune system’s capacity to fight illness.

“Especially for kids above the age of 2, parents should ensure that they get eight hours of sleep,” says Seyad. “When kids stay up late at night, cortisol—the primary stress hormone—gets released, and it can cause unhealthy weight gain. This is also linked with decreased immunity that makes them prone to infections.”

Seyad recalls a four-year-old who routinely stayed up till 1am to align with her father's work schedule. This sleep delay disrupted her nutritional timeline; daily meals were pushed back significantly. Seyad recalls that she used to start her meal with a brunch, with dinner getting pushed to 11pm. This midnight routine ultimately led to behavioural issues, a marked decrease in daytime physical activity and subsequent weight gain. She was then placed on a mandatory sleep routine. By shifting her bedtime to between 9.30pm and 10.30pm, she began waking up naturally between 7.30am and 8.30am. With a healthier sleep cycle, her appetite improved and her daytime activity levels bounced back.

Underlying issues can also cause sleep disturbances, such as swollen adenoids. Adenoids are patches of tissue located behind the nose that swell when fighting infections or allergies. It causes nasal blockages and persistent congestion, which often require treatment with nasal sprays or surgical removal.

“Recently, we have been noticing a surge in allergies in children quite early in childhood, and quite an increase in the number of adenoid hypertrophy (enlarged adenoids) in them,” says Seyad. “This in turn leads to obstruction of the nasal passage and causes disturbance in their sleep. I have had cases where the child gets up and cries every night owing to almost complete obstruction of the nasal passage.” This leads to children being prone to recurrent upper respiratory infection, affecting growth, he adds.

For good sleep, children need to be as active as possible through the day in a safe, supervised environment. Every moment of physical activity counts—the more, the better.

The Indian Academy of Paediatrics recommends specific durations and types of physical activities for children up to a certain age. For example, toddlers between 1 and 2 years old require at least three hours of physical activity daily, including moving around, rolling and active play. For children aged 3 to 5, the guidelines advise at least three hours of daily activity, including at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity such as chasing games, group ball games, running, jumping, hopping and dancing.

‘Kids will sleep when they are sleepy’ is a timeless piece of wisdom passed down by elders, but it isn't always true. Leaving bedtimes to chance can easily backfire.

“It is important to set up a sleep routine for kids,” says Dr Priya S. Kumar, a paediatrician in Ahmedabad. “Beyond just getting ample rest, a predictable routine reduces bedtime struggles and supports physical development, emotional regulation, cognitive skills and school performance.”