Children's sleep: hours, bedtimes and screens

How much sleep does a child need?

A child needs 9 to 12 hours of sleep in 24 hours at age 6 to 12, and 8 to 10 hours as a teenager¹. Babies and toddlers need more, and their naps count.

These ranges come from a panel brought together by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), a US body of sleep scientists and clinics. The panel read the research on children's sleep and health and agreed on hours for each age¹.

For babies under 4 months, the AASM gave no range¹. The World Health Organization (WHO) fills that gap: 14 to 17 hours of good sleep in 24 hours, naps included, for babies up to 3 months⁵.

The hours are a range, not a target to hit every night. What tells you more is the morning. A child who wakes on their own, eats breakfast and is calm in class is usually getting enough.

What time should school children in India go to bed?

School children in India should go to bed 9 to 12 hours before they must wake¹. For a 6 am wake-up, that means asleep by 9 pm at the latest¹.

Count back from the time your child must get up. Take the hours from the table, allow a little time to fall asleep, and keep that bedtime the same every night, holidays included.

Take an 8-year-old in Bengaluru whose school van comes at 6:45 am. To wake at 6:00 with 9 to 12 hours of sleep, they need to be asleep between 6 pm and 9 pm¹. Lights out by 8:30 pm is a fair aim.

A teenager who wakes at 6 am needs to be asleep between 8 pm and 10 pm to get 8 to 10 hours¹. That is hard for many teens, and the teen section below explains why.

Many Indian children sleep later than this. In a study of 103 children aged 3 to 10 in Chandigarh, half fell asleep at 10 pm or later³. On average they slept under 9 hours at night³.

How can I get my child to sleep early?

To get your child to sleep early, keep the same bedtime every night, with a short routine before it: brush, book, bed. Screens go off 1 hour before⁶⁷.

A short, fixed routine helps the body learn when night begins. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls it "Brush, Book, Bed": brush teeth, read together, then sleep at the same time each night⁷.

In many Indian homes, the family eats together at 9:30 or 10 pm, after the last parent comes home. Family dinner is a good habit, but it can push a small child's bedtime to 11 pm.

If your child is often tired in the morning, let them eat a little earlier and join the table for the talk.

In a joint family, everyone has a hand in bedtime. Grandparents may let a child stay up for a TV serial or a story.

Agree on one bedtime as a family, and let the grandparent own the story at that time. Children settle best when every adult says the same thing.

Do toddlers still need a nap?

Most toddlers still need a nap. The AASM hours for children aged 1 to 5 include naps¹. WHO says sleep for 3- and 4-year-olds "may include a nap"⁵.

There is no fixed age when naps stop. Each child drops the day nap in their own time. A sign is a child who naps well but then cannot fall asleep at night.

If your child still naps, keep it in the early afternoon. A nap that runs into the evening, say after a long car ride home from a family function, can push bedtime late.

Does screen time affect children's sleep?

Yes, screen time affects children's sleep. Screen light tells the body it is still day, so it makes less melatonin. Screens should go off 1 hour before bedtime⁶.

Melatonin is a hormone the body makes in the dark that tells it night has come. Bright light from a phone, tablet or TV in the evening lowers it⁶.

The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) published India's own screen guidelines in 2022⁶. For children under 2, it advises no screens at all. The one exception is a short, occasional video call with family who live far away⁶.

For ages 2 to 5, the IAP allows up to 1 hour a day, in sessions of 20 to 30 minutes, always with an adult watching too⁶.

For ages 5 to 10, it is under 2 hours a day, and that includes screen time for homework⁶. The IAP also asks families to keep 3 places free of screens: the bedroom, the dining table and the kitchen⁶.

In a small flat where the TV is in the room the children sleep in, this is hard. Turning the TV off at a fixed time, or moving it out, helps everyone sleep. In the Chandigarh study, TV delayed sleep for 39% of children³.

In Mysuru, a study of 317 adolescents found that 22.1% had poor sleep quality⁹. More screen use for fun on weekends went with worse sleep⁹.

How much sleep does a teenager need?

A teenager needs 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night¹. Many teens get less, and their body clock shifts later, so a teen who can't sleep at 10 pm is not being stubborn⁸.

The body clock, or circadian rhythm, is the body's own 24-hour timer. It tells you when to feel sleepy and when to feel alert.

At puberty, the body clock can move up to 2 hours later⁸. Many teens cannot fall asleep before 11 pm⁸. If school starts early, they cannot get 8 hours, however early they lie down.

For this reason, the AAP recommends that middle and high schools start at 8:30 am or later⁸. Where school starts earlier, the hours have to come from the evening.

In Delhi, 1 in 5 students aged 12 to 18 slept under 8 hours (22.5% of 1,521)². Chapter 6 covers how low mood and short sleep feed each other in teens.

From age 10 to 18, the IAP sets no fixed limit on screens. It does ask that screens never crowd out at least 1 hour outdoors and 8 to 9 hours of sleep⁶.

A phone that charges outside the bedroom at night is the simplest way to protect that.

How much should students sleep during exams?

Students should sleep the same in exam weeks as in any other week: 9 to 12 hours up to age 12, and 8 to 10 hours for teens¹. Sleep is when the brain stores what was studied that day.

Students who slept under 8 hours scored lower, not higher: 64% on average, against 67% for those who slept more². That was in the Delhi study of 1,521 students.

Board exams in February and March bring the most pressure. In Mangaluru, a study of 634 students in Class 11 and 12 found 39% were sleep-deprived¹⁰.

In Pune, children from better-off homes slept about 93 minutes less than children from the poorest homes, mostly because they studied more¹¹.

What helps in exam weeks: a fixed wake time, no study in bed, and a last revision that ends 1 hour before sleep. Screens go off at the same time⁶.

Don't study through the night before a paper. The sleep is worth more than the extra hours.

At what age should a child sleep alone?

No guideline sets an age when a child should sleep alone. Sharing a bed or room is common in India and is a family choice, as long as the child gets enough hours. Babies are different: see below⁴.

Co-sleeping means a child sleeps in the same bed or the same room as a parent⁴.

In Puducherry, 97.8% of children aged 5 to 12 co-slept: 48.7% in the same bed and 51.3% in the same room⁴. Other Indian studies report 67% to 80%⁴.

Most parents in that study, 91.3%, said they preferred it, mainly for closeness and a sense of security⁴. In a joint family or a 1-bedroom flat, there is often no other way, and that is fine.

What matters more than the age is that the child gets enough hours, at a fixed time, without being woken by adults who sleep later.

If 4 people share 1 bed, the child often sleeps squeezed at the edge. A separate flat sleeping space beside the parents' bed can give everyone more rest.

How do I keep a baby safe while sleeping?

To keep a baby safe while sleeping, put them on their back for every sleep, on a firm, flat surface, with nothing soft around them¹²¹³.

This is the advice of the AAP in the US and the NHS in the UK. Both say: back to sleep, a firm flat surface, and no pillows, blankets, bumpers or soft toys in the sleep space¹²¹³.

Keep the baby in your room, on their own sleep surface, for at least the first 6 months¹²¹³.

SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome, is the sudden, unexplained death of a baby under 1 year who seemed healthy¹³. It is most likely in the first 6 months but can happen up to 12 months¹³.

That is why the room-sharing advice runs for at least 6 months.

The AAP says it "cannot support bed-sharing under any circumstances"¹². The NHS sets conditions instead.

Avoid bed-sharing if the baby was born before 37 weeks or weighed under 2.5 kg¹³. Avoid it if a parent smokes, has drunk alcohol or has taken drugs or medicine that causes drowsiness¹³.

Never sleep with a baby on a sofa or armchair¹²¹³. Bed-sharing is most risky for babies under 4 months, babies born early or small, and when an adult smokes or has had alcohol¹².

Many Indian families keep the baby in the parents' bed, often with a grandmother close by.

If your baby sleeps in your bed, keep these rules. Baby on the back, on a firm, flat surface. No pillow, sheet or quilt near the face. No other children or pets in the bed¹³.

The baby must not be able to roll off or get stuck between the bed and the wall. Never bed-share if the baby was born early or small, or if an adult smokes, has had alcohol or is very tired¹³.

Indian heat adds one more point. Overheating raises the risk of SIDS¹³.

Dress the baby in light cotton. Feel the chest or the back of the neck: if it is hot or sweaty, take a layer off. Keep the baby out of direct sun¹³.

Why is my child not sleeping at night?

A child is usually not sleeping at night because of a bedtime that moves around, late screens, worry, or a room that is too hot or noisy. Less often, snoring or breathing trouble is the cause.

Start with the simple checks. Is bedtime the same each night? Are screens off 1 hour before bed⁶? Is something worrying your child, like a new school, a test or a fight at home?

Some parents give melatonin tablets or gummies to help a child sleep. The AASM warns that lab tests found products holding anywhere from under half to over 4 times the dose on the label¹⁴.

Do not give melatonin to a child without advice from a children's sleep clinic¹⁴.

A child who snores loudly every night, breathes through the mouth, or is very sleepy at school may have a breathing problem in sleep. Chapter 1 explains the signs. A sleep clinic can check.