A 1-year-old who wakes at 7:00 AM and naps for about 1.5 hours in total should go to bed around 7:15 PM, within a window of 6:45 to 7:45 PM. With 2 hours of naps, bedtime moves to about 7:45 PM. Both aim for about 13 hours of sleep in 24 hours, inside the 11 to 14 hours (naps included) the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends for ages 1 to 2. Each time includes about 15 minutes to fall asleep.
These are the same numbers the kids bedtime calculator gives for a 1-year-old. Its youngest setting is 1 year, and for this age it uses a 13-hour daily target and a 1.5-hour nap by default. At 1, naps change a lot, so the charts below give a bedtime for each total amount of daytime sleep.
Free toolSleep Needs by AgeRecommended hours for every age, from newborns to over-65s.What time should a 1-year-old go to bed at night?
Take the wake-up time, count back 13 hours and 15 minutes, then add back the total length of today's naps. For a 7:00 AM wake-up and 1.5 hours of naps, that's 7:15 PM.
| Wake-up time | 1 hour of naps | 1.5 hours of naps | 2 hours of naps | 2.5 hours of naps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00 AM | 5:45 PM | 6:15 PM | 6:45 PM | 7:15 PM |
| 6:30 AM | 6:15 PM | 6:45 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:45 PM |
| 7:00 AM | 6:45 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:45 PM | 8:15 PM |
| 7:30 AM | 7:15 PM | 7:45 PM | 8:15 PM | 8:45 PM |
At this age, aim to land within about 30 minutes either side of the time in the chart. More nap time means a later bedtime, minute for minute, so the 24-hour total stays near 13 hours.
The calculator's nap setting goes up to 2 hours. If your child's naps add up to more, the 2.5-hour column uses the same formula. If that puts bedtime later than suits your family, a slightly shorter afternoon nap is usually easier to change than the morning wake-up.
What time should a 1-year-old go to bed and wake up?
A common, workable day is up at 7:00 AM, about 1.5 to 2 hours of naps, and in bed between 7:15 and 7:45 PM. That gives roughly 11 to 11.5 hours at night plus the naps.
| Total naps | Sleep at night | Bedtime for a 7:00 AM wake-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | 12 h | 6:45 PM |
| 1.5 hours | 11.5 h | 7:15 PM |
| 2 hours | 11 h | 7:45 PM |
| 2.5 hours | 10.5 h | 8:15 PM |
If your 1-year-old is up at 6:00 AM no matter what time they go down, a later bedtime rarely buys a later morning. Shift the whole day to the 6:00 AM row instead.
Two naps or one: how does it change bedtime?
The number of naps matters less than their total length: add them together and use that column. Two 45-minute naps count the same as one 1.5-hour nap.
In a study that followed children from 6 months to 7 years, a two-nap pattern was well established by 9 to 12 months, and most children had moved to one afternoon nap somewhere between 15 and 24 months. So for most of the year after the first birthday, two naps is normal, and the switch to one happens later for many children.
On two naps. A typical pattern is a mid-morning nap and an early-afternoon nap. If they add up to about 2 hours and wake-up is 7:00 AM, bedtime is about 7:45 PM.
During the switch to one nap. Days are uneven: one nap of an hour on some days, two on others. Use the 1-hour column on short-nap days, which means an earlier bedtime, around 6:45 PM for a 7:00 AM wake-up. That early night is what makes up for the missing nap.
Once settled on one nap. A single midday nap of 1.5 to 2 hours puts bedtime at 7:15 to 7:45 PM for a 7:00 AM wake-up. The 2-year-old bedtime guide picks up from there.
Signs a nap change is catching up with them:
- Falling asleep in the car or stroller late in the day
- Fussing through dinner or a burst of wild energy before bed
- More night waking or a much earlier start the next morning
What if my 1-year-old skips a nap?
On a day with no nap at all, the same math gives a bedtime of about 5:45 PM for a 7:00 AM wake-up. That's very early, and it rarely lasts. A review of napping studies from around the world found that fewer than 2.5% of children stop napping before age 2, so a no-nap day at 1 is usually a one-off. Go to bed early that night and offer naps as normal the next day.
How much sleep does a 1-year-old need?
A 1-year-old needs 11 to 14 hours of sleep in 24 hours, including naps. The calculator aims for 13 hours at age 1, in the upper half of that range, and steps down to 12.5 hours at age 2.
For sample schedules across the toddler years, see how much sleep does a toddler need. The sleep needs by age calculator shows the recommended range for every age.
Making a 1-year-old bedtime stick
A short routine in the same order every night helps more than the exact clock time. In a survey of mothers of more than 10,000 children up to age 5 in 13 countries, a consistent bedtime routine was linked to earlier bedtimes, falling asleep faster, fewer night wakings and more sleep, and more nights a week meant better results.
- Keep it to about 20 to 30 minutes: bath or wash, pajamas, milk if it's part of your routine, teeth, a book, lights out.
- Dim the lights in the last half hour.
- Use the same goodnight words each night.
The full version is in bedtime routine for kids.
When to talk to your pediatrician
Check with your pediatrician if your child snores loudly most nights, has pauses or gasps in breathing while asleep, seems very sleepy or unusually irritable during the day despite enough sleep, or has night waking that's getting worse over several weeks.