Baby sleep schedule at 22 months: one nap, night fears and bedtime
Lulla TeamPublished Updated
At 22 months your toddler still needs 11 to 14 hours of sleep a day: 10 to 12 hours at night plus one nap, with wake windows of 5 to 6 hours. The numbers are the same as last month, so if the nights have changed, the reason is usually somewhere other than the schedule.
What's new at 22 months lives in your toddler's head. Imagination arrives properly, and with it the first nighttime fears — the dark, a shadow, a noise from the hallway. At the same time comes a fierce desire to do everything alone, and bedtime becomes the place to exercise it.
See the full wake-window table, from newborn to 2 years→How many naps by age — the full table→When your newborn won't sleep: what to check, in order→
Does this 22 months 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.
A toddler who suddenly doesn't want the light off isn't manipulating you. Around 22 months children start generating images and stories they cannot yet separate from reality, and a dark room gives that machinery plenty to work with. Take the fear seriously without amplifying it: name it simply, check the room together if that helps, and use a small warm night light if one is needed.
The other half of the month is independence. Your toddler wants to choose the pajamas, carry the toothbrush and switch off the light themselves. Handing over real jobs inside the routine is the cheapest way to buy cooperation — a child who controls three small steps argues much less about the rest. Keep the boundaries of the routine fixed, and let the details be theirs.
A sample day
The day below places a single nap after lunch with wake windows of 5 to 6 hours either side. Use the spacing rather than the clock; adjust the times to your toddler's morning wake-up and to what the day has actually looked like.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 7:00 | Wake-up and first feed |
| 13:15 | Nap 1 · approx. 90 min |
| 20:15 | 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.
Your baby's sleep schedule, by age
One table with everything that matters: total sleep per 24h, wake windows and number of naps, from newborn to age 3. Total sleep follows the National Sleep Foundation recommendations.
Tips for this age
- Wind down properly: low light and quiet play in the last hour keep an active imagination from arriving at the crib at full speed.
- Note the night wakings and the afternoon wake window in Lulla, because the pattern usually separates genuine fear from plain overtiredness.
- Give your toddler two or three real jobs in the routine — turning off the light, choosing the book — to channel the do-it-myself phase.
- If your toddler is afraid of the dark, validate it plainly and use a dim warm night light rather than turning it into a long conversation.
- Frequent, intense nighttime distress that does not settle is worth discussing with your pediatrician rather than managing alone.
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Common questions
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Keep reading
- Baby tiredness signs: how to read them before the crying starts
- How to build the perfect sleep routine for your baby
- How much do newborns sleep? What's normal by age and when it's too much
Sources
Total sleep per 24 hours follows the National Sleep Foundation's ranges (2015); at 3 months we smooth the step between two of them to 13 to 16 hours. Night sleep, wake windows and the number of naps are Lulla's own reference points, not recommendations from the organizations below. This information is educational and does not replace advice from your pediatrician.
- Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015;1(1):40–43.
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Safe Sleep
- NHS — Helping your baby to sleep
- World Health Organization — Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age