How Many Hours Should a Growing Child Sleep?
Sleep is closely tied to growth hormone release, so getting enough of it matters a lot during childhood. Enter your child's age and morning wake-up time, and this calculator gives you the recommended sleep hours for their age group along with a suggested bedtime.
As a general guide, toddlers age 1-2 need about 11-14 hours, preschoolers 3-5 need 10-13 hours, school-age children 6-13 need 9-11 hours, and teens 14-18 need 8-10 hours. Younger children need more sleep overall, and while teens naturally shift toward later bedtimes as puberty changes their body clock, the total recommended hours don't drop much.
Sleeping the same total hours at a consistent time each night helps stabilize the rhythm of growth hormone release. Because growth hormone is released mainly during the early deep-sleep stages, an inconsistent bedtime can mean less of that deep sleep even if the total hours look adequate. Try to work backward from the school wake-up time to set a consistent bedtime, and cut back on phone or TV use in the hour before bed to help your child fall asleep faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
One or two short nights won't cause immediate problems, but chronic shortfall over time can affect growth hormone release and concentration, so it's best to average out to the recommended range.
Occasionally is fine, but if bedtime and wake time swing far from weekdays, it disrupts the body clock and can affect how they feel Monday morning. Try to keep weekend shifts within about an hour.