How much sleep is sufficient

Nat seems to require lesser sleep and she struggle to stay up as late as possible. She would make up excuses to get out of her room, most times asking innocently to see what her dad is doing outside the room. Or She would say she wants to return her milk bottle or assist her dad in hanging the laundry. Despite the fact that she would be ready for bed by 830pm, most times she would end up sleeping at 10ish.

So how much sleep does a 2yr old require? Or how much less is still enough?

I've extracted some general guidelines on how many hours of sleep a child needs on average each day via baby centre for reference.


2 years-
Nighttime Sleep :10.5 to 12.5 hours,
Daytime Sleep :1 to 3 hours (1 nap)
Average Total Sleep :11.5 to 15.5 hours

3 years
Nighttime Sleep: 10.5 to 12.5 hours
Daytime Sleep :1 to 3 hours (1 nap)
Average Total Sleep :11 to 14 hours

4 years
Nighttime Sleep: 10 to 12 hours
Daytime Sleep : 0 to 2.5 hours (1 or no nap)
Average Total Sleep :10 to 13 hours

5 years
Nighttime Sleep: 10 to 12 hours
Daytime Sleep : 0 to 2.5 hours (1 or no nap) Average Total Sleep :1 10 to 12.5 hours

• Note: The two sets of numbers don't always add up because children who take longer naps tend to sleep fewer hours at night, and vice versa.

According to reports, Most preschoolers need a lot of sleep – usually more than parents allow for. If a child has poor sleep habits or refuses to nap or go to bed before 10 at night, parents will often assume that he just doesn't need much sleep. That's probably not the case – in fact, it's likely that such a child is actually sleep-deprived, hence his hyper, overtired behaviour at bedtime.

To see whether your child falls into this camp, ask yourself:

• Does my child frequently fall asleep while travelling in the car?

• Do I have to wake him almost every morning?

• Does he seem grumpy, irritable or overtired during the day?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your child may be getting less sleep than his body craves.

To change this pattern, you'll need to help him develop good sleep habits, and set an appropriate bedtime and then stick to it. A preschooler or school-starter who's outgrown napping needs a solid 11 to 12 hours of sleep a night, and that amount will gradually decrease as he gets older. Even so, by the time he's a teenager, your child will still need nine to 10 hours of shut-eye a night.


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