1 Month Old Sleep Schedule: How Much Sleep, Wake Windows and a Sample Day

1 month old sleep at a glance

A 1 month old spends most of the day asleep, but the sleep comes in short pieces between feeds, diaper changes and brief spells of being awake. Below are the typical ranges for a baby around 1 month old (about 4 to 6 weeks), a sample day with clock times and answers to the questions parents ask most. The numbers are typical ranges; your baby's cues come before the clock.

A wake window is the time your baby is awake between two sleeps, including the feed, diaper change and cuddles.

A 1 month old belongs in the first row; from about 2 months the second row applies. The wake window ranges are the Whispie app's starting ranges, as on the wake window chart by age; they are not an official standard, and in the first weeks babies are usually at the short end.

What sleep is like in the first month

In the first month, sleeping, feeding and care blend together: your baby wakes, feeds, looks around briefly and falls asleep again. The NHS says babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed, so broken sleep is expected at this age and does not mean you or your baby are doing anything wrong.

The NHS also notes that some babies soon sleep through the night while others do not for a long time, so there is no single timetable to aim for. The first change comes at about 2 months:

• The first weeks: wake windows at the short end of 40–110 minutes (often around 45–60 minutes) and 4–6 naps a day.
• From about 2 months: wake windows grow to 65–125 minutes and the number of naps drops to about 4.

We cover the whole newborn period on the newborn sleep schedule page.

How much does a 1 month old sleep?

A baby aged 0 to 6 weeks typically sleeps 14–17 hours in 24 hours, with 6–8 hours of that in daytime naps. From about 6 weeks it is 14–16 hours in total and 5–6 hours of daytime sleep. The rest falls at night and is broken up by feeds.

Outside sources point the same way. The WHO gives 14–17 hours of good quality sleep, including naps, for babies aged 0–3 months, and the National Sleep Foundation gives the same range. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine consensus statement gives no range for babies under 4 months.

These are ranges, not targets. A 4 week old fits the first row, and from about 2 months the second row applies. If your baby is calm and alert when awake, being near either end of the range is usually fine. If you are worried about sleep, weight gain or unusual sleepiness, talk to your pediatrician or GP.

Wake windows at 1 month

The starting range is 40–110 minutes (typically about 80), in the first weeks usually at the short end, around 45–60 minutes. The feed and diaper change are part of it, so it does not take long after waking before the next sleep is due. Here is how to use the range:

Long wake windows make falling asleep harder, not easier. The Wake Window Calculator can help you adjust for age.

Daytime naps at 1 month

Expect about 4–6 naps (the Whispie app starts from 5). That wide range shows that the number of naps varies from baby to baby and from day to day, so watch the daytime total more than the count: if it lands around 6–8 hours, your day is typical.

• Naps can be short or long. One short nap does not throw off the day; judge the total in the evening.
• By day, the NHS suggests opening the curtains, playing and not worrying too much about everyday noises while your baby naps, so naps do not need a silent house.
• For every sleep, the NHS says to place your baby on their back, on a firm, flat mattress, with the cot clear of anything that could cover their face and head, in a separate cot or Moses basket in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months. The AAP likewise advises back sleeping for all naps and at night, and room sharing without bed sharing. See safe sleep for babies.

Sample day for a 1 month old

This table is only an example. The times move with when your baby wakes, and your baby's cues decide. The sample day starts at 7:00 am and has 6 naps, which is inside the 4–6 range; some babies manage with fewer.

In this example the naps add up to 6 h, inside the typical 6–8 hours of daytime sleep. Every wake window is 50–55 minutes, at the short end of the 40–110 minute range. How long night sleep lasts and how often the baby wakes varies a lot from baby to baby, so we do not give a fixed figure for the night.

What changes from about 2 months

The wake window ranges work in age bands. A 1 month old sits in the first band (0–2 months); from about 2 months the baby moves to the second (2–4 months). Side by side:

Visitors and first outings often land right in nap times. On such days stay flexible: look at the daytime total and your baby's cues, and go back to the usual rhythm the next day. What comes next is on the 8 week old sleep schedule and 2 month old sleep schedule pages.

Night sleep and night feeds at 1 month

The NHS says babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed, so a 1 month old waking to feed is expected. We do not give a number for night waking because there is no evidence-based figure. For questions about feeding or weight gain, talk to your pediatrician or GP.

To help your baby learn the difference between day and night, the NHS suggests:

• By day: open the curtains, play, and do not worry too much about everyday noises while your baby naps.
• At night: keep the lights low and your voice quiet, and settle your baby back to sleep after the feed and diaper change.

The safe sleep rules are on the safe sleep for babies page.

Tired signs

Tired signs come before the clock. Our wake window chart suggests watching for early cues such as a staring look, a calmer body and yawning, and the chart's advice is to aim for the lower end of the range if your child is already fussy by the end of a wake window. More on the tired signs page.

Common questions about a 1 month old's sleep