How many hours a day should a newborn sleep?

A newborn sleeps 14 to 17 hours in a 24-hour day. Roughly 8 to 9 of those hours fall at night, interrupted by feeds, and the rest is spread over 4 to 6 naps of very uneven length. These are ranges, not targets — some babies sit at the low end and are perfectly well. If your baby is far outside them, or something else worries you, ask your pediatrician.

Why does my newborn have day and night mixed up?

Because the body clock has not matured yet. In the first weeks a baby does not make much melatonin and does not read light and dark the way adults do, so the longest stretch of sleep can land in the middle of the afternoon. It's a phase, not a mistake. Daylight in the morning and dark, low-key night feeds help the rhythm settle, but the real change comes with maturation over the next couple of months.

What is the safest way to put a newborn down?

On their back, on a firm flat mattress, in an empty crib or bassinet — no pillows, loose blankets, bumpers, wedges or soft toys before 12 months. Keep the sleep space in your room for the first months if you can, and never let your baby sleep on a sofa or armchair with you. Use a correctly sized sleep sack instead of a blanket if the room is cool. Your pediatrician can check your setup at the next visit.

How long can a newborn stay awake?

Not long: 45 to 60 minutes, and that includes the feed and the diaper change. Past that window most newborns tip into overtiredness, which paradoxically makes settling harder. Watch for yawning, a glazed stare, jerky movements or rubbing at the face, and start winding down as soon as you see them — even if the clock says it's only been half an hour.

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Newborn sleep schedule (0 months): wake windows, naps and safe sleep

Your newborn sleeps a lot — 14 to 17 hours out of every 24 — but almost never in one piece. Around 8 to 9 of those hours happen at night, broken up by feeds, and the rest is spread across 4 to 6 naps. Wake windows are tiny at this age: most newborns can only stay up for 45 to 60 minutes before they need to sleep again.

There's no fixed schedule yet, and there's nothing to fix. In the first weeks feeding drives the day and the clock follows along. Rather than aiming for set nap times, watch the wake window and your baby's cues — yawning, staring into space, turning away from you — and start settling before the crying begins.

14–17 h

Total sleep / 24 h

8–9 h

Night sleep

4–6

Naps per day

45 min–60 min

Wake window

Your baby's body clock hasn't started yet. The circadian rhythm that separates day from night takes a couple of months to mature, and newborns do not produce much melatonin of their own. That's why your baby can sleep deeply at noon and be wide awake at 3 am. It's normal physiology, not a habit you accidentally created, and it's not something you can train away in week two.

Newborn sleep cycles are short and full of active sleep, so you'll hear grunting, squeaking and irregular breathing, and see twitches and facial expressions while your baby is fully asleep. Wait a moment before picking them up — a lot of those noises belong to sleep, not to waking. What you can do now is stack the odds: bright, normal daylight during the day, and dark, boring nights.

A sample day

In the first weeks a fixed timetable is not the goal. Treat the day below as one way that 4 to 6 naps and 45 to 60 minute wake windows can fall — a rough guide, not a rule — and let feeds and sleep cues set the real rhythm.

Time	What happens
7:00	Wake-up and first feed
8:00	Nap 1 · approx. 45 min
10:00	Nap 2 · approx. 60 min
12:30	Nap 3 · approx. 45 min
14:30	Nap 4 · approx. 60 min
16:45	Nap 5 · approx. 30 min
20:30	Bedtime routine and lights out

A sample day to give you a rough idea — every baby is different. Adjust the times to your child's sleep cues, and talk to your pediatrician about anything that worries you.

Does this Newborn schedule match your day?

Lulla times the naps and tells you when the wake window is closing, so you do not have to keep count in your head.

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Tips for this age

Put your baby down on their back every single time, on a firm flat mattress, in a crib with nothing loose in it — no pillows, blankets, bumpers or soft toys before 12 months.
Teach the difference between day and night from week one: daylight and normal household noise for daytime naps, dim light and quiet for night feeds.
Start settling at the 45 to 60 minute mark rather than waiting for a meltdown, because overtired newborns fight sleep harder, not less.
Between feeds, diaper changes and naps it's easy to lose count, so logging sleep in an app like Lulla shows you how long your baby has actually been awake.
If your baby sleeps far less than these ranges, feeds poorly, or seems unusually hard to rouse, call your pediatrician — they know your baby's history.

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Common questions

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Sources

The figures on this page follow the guidance of these organizations. This information is educational and does not replace advice from your pediatrician.