Best Bedtime for Baby by Age: Newborn to 12 Months

For most babies over about 3 months, bedtime falls somewhere between 6:30pm and 8:30pm. Newborns often settle later, sometimes between 8:00pm and 10:00pm. Treat these as starting ranges, not targets. The bedtime that suits your baby also depends on naps, wake windows, sleep cues, and how easily they settle.

That is why one schedule says 6pm, another says 8pm, and your baby may sleep well at a completely different time.

Start with the age range below. Then move bedtime earlier or later based on the day your baby has actually had.

Baby Bedtime Chart: Flexible Ranges by Age

Age	Common bedtime range	Why it often works
Newborn to 8 weeks	8:00pm to 10:00pm	Many newborns naturally settle later and sleep is still very irregular
2 to 3 months	7:30pm to 9:00pm	Evenings often start shifting earlier as day and night become clearer
4 to 5 months	6:30pm to 8:30pm	Wake windows become easier to predict and bedtime often stabilises
6 to 8 months	6:30pm to 8:00pm	Many babies do best with an earlier bedtime once naps become more structured
9 to 12 months	6:30pm to 8:00pm	Two-nap routines often support a fairly steady evening bedtime

No health body sets a bedtime clock time for babies. These are our suggested starting ranges, not official guidance. Plenty of babies sleep well outside them.

What Decides Your Baby's Bedtime?

The best bedtime is the time that helps your baby settle comfortably and sleep well overnight. Three things decide it together:

your baby's age
the timing and length of naps
the final wake window before bed, meaning how long your baby is awake between the last nap and going down

Official guidance covers how much sleep babies need, not when they should go down. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends a total amount of sleep per 24 hours from 4 months of age. It makes no recommendation below 4 months, because normal sleep varies so widely at that age and there is not enough evidence linking sleep amounts to health outcomes. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the same amounts. The NHS covers bedtime routines, telling day from night, and safer sleep. None of them names a bedtime.

Best Bedtime for Baby by Age

What is the best bedtime for a newborn to 8 weeks?

For newborns up to 8 weeks old, bedtime often falls between 8:00pm and 10:00pm. Many newborns cluster feed in the evening, which means lots of short feeds close together. They doze on and off, and may not yet have a clear night bedtime at all.

Instead of forcing a 7pm bedtime:

keep evenings calm and dimly lit
expect frequent feeding and irregular sleep
watch sleepy cues closely, because wake windows are very short
follow safer sleep advice from the Lullaby Trust

If your newborn naturally starts a longer stretch after 9pm, that is their current rhythm. It often moves earlier on its own.

What is the best bedtime for a 2 to 3 month old?

A common bedtime for a 2 to 3 month old is between 7:30pm and 9:00pm. Some babies start sleeping a longer, more reliable stretch at night around now, and bedtime often drifts earlier without you doing anything. A late catnap pushes bedtime later. A day of poor naps brings it forward.

This is a good age to start a simple bedtime routine. In a study of more than 10,000 children aged 0 to 5, a consistent bedtime routine was linked with earlier bedtimes, faster settling, fewer night wakings, and more sleep overall, and the more consistent the routine, the stronger the link (Mindell et al., 2015). Keep it short and repeatable: nappy, pyjamas, feed, cuddle, song, bed.

What is the best bedtime for a 4 to 5 month old?

For many 4 to 5 month olds, bedtime falls between 6:30pm and 8:30pm. Sleep usually becomes more predictable at this age, but it also becomes more sensitive to timing. After a day of short naps, a late bedtime often leaves your baby overtired.

If your baby is also going through the 4 month sleep regression, bedtime will feel messier for a while. In that phase, a calm routine and a final wake window that suits your baby's age matter more than the exact time on the clock.

What is the best bedtime for a 6 to 8 month old?

The best bedtime for a 6 month old often falls between 6:30pm and 8:00pm, and the same range works as a starting point through 8 months. Many babies at this age are taking three naps or moving towards two, which makes the final wake window especially important.

An earlier bedtime often helps, because:

longer wake windows leave your baby more tired by the evening
one poor nap can throw out the rest of the day
overtired babies get distracted during feeds and upset more easily

If your baby suddenly starts resisting bedtime, waking more, or taking short naps, compare what you are seeing with our guide to the 6 month sleep regression. Sometimes the problem at bedtime is a developmental phase or a change in the nap schedule, not the bedtime itself.

What is the best bedtime for a 9 to 12 month old?

Many 9 to 12 month olds do well with a bedtime between 6:30pm and 8:00pm once they are settled on two naps.

Bedtime drifts later when the second nap runs long or ends too close to the evening. If bedtime has turned into a nightly struggle, check what time the last nap ended before you change anything else.

A later bedtime suits some babies. But if your baby is fussy all evening, wakes 30 to 60 minutes after going down, or starts the day unusually early, they may be getting too tired before bed.

How Do Wake Windows and Nap Timing Change Bedtime?

Wake windows let you adjust an age-based bedtime to the day your baby has actually had. Ask two questions: how long has your baby been awake, and how well did they nap? Those answers matter more than the clock.

Three worked examples:

A 5 month old had three decent naps and woke from the last one at 5:15pm. A bedtime between 7:15pm and 7:45pm is likely to fit.
An 8 month old refused the second nap and is struggling to stay awake by 5:45pm. Bring bedtime forward.
A 10 month old had a long late-afternoon nap and is wide awake at 6:30pm. An early bedtime will probably mean a long, unhappy stretch in the cot.

The chart gives you the range. Naps and awake time tell you where to land inside it.

How Can You Tell If Bedtime Is Too Early?

Bedtime may be too early if your baby is calm at bedtime but shows no sign of being ready to sleep. Look for:

taking a long time to fall asleep without getting upset
chatting, rolling, or playing in the cot
treating bedtime like a third or fourth nap rather than night sleep
waking happy after a short stretch, ready for more awake time

If this happens several days in a row, move bedtime 10 to 15 minutes later and see whether settling gets easier.

How Can You Tell If Bedtime Is Too Late?

Bedtime may be too late if your baby gets more and more upset through the evening, or gets a second wind. Signs include:

fussiness that builds through the bedtime routine
crying as soon as the routine starts
frantic feeding, or pulling on and off the breast or bottle
a wired second wind when your baby looked exhausted 20 minutes earlier
false starts 30 to 60 minutes after bedtime
very early morning wakes after a difficult evening

If these signs keep appearing, try an earlier bedtime or a shorter final wake window.

How Do You Move Your Baby's Bedtime?

Change bedtime gradually, and change one thing at a time:

Pick one problem to solve first, such as bedtime resistance or false starts.
Look at the final nap and the last wake window for the previous three to five days.
Move bedtime 10 to 15 minutes earlier or later.
Keep the bedtime routine the same while you test the change.
Give the new time a few days before you decide whether it helped.

Small shifts work better than big ones. The same approach helps when the clocks change.

A few things make any bedtime easier. Start the routine before your baby is overtired, keep the same broad order most nights even when the timings move, and set up the sleep space to follow safer sleep guidance from the NHS and Lullaby Trust. Expect teething, illness, and developmental phases to unsettle bedtime for a while.

For the routine itself, see how to establish a bedtime routine and baby bedtime routine by age. If evenings are generally hard, try these tips to help your baby sleep. If the last stretch before bed is the worst part, read how to get your baby to sleep without rocking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time should baby go to bed?

For most babies older than about 3 months, bedtime falls between 6:30pm and 8:30pm, and newborns often settle later, sometimes between 8:00pm and 10:00pm. Pick a time in that range using three things: when the last nap ended, how long your baby has been awake, and how easily they settle.

What is the best bedtime for a 6 month old?

The best bedtime for a 6 month old often falls between 6:30pm and 8:00pm, and many land near 7:00pm. The right time still depends on when the last nap ended and how your baby copes with the final wake window.

Does an earlier bedtime make babies wake earlier?

Not always. An earlier bedtime that suits your baby can reduce evening stress and false starts without bringing the morning forward.

Should bedtime be the same every night?

Aim for consistency within a sensible range, not the same minute every night. A range copes with the days when naps go wrong, which a fixed time cannot.

Is there a medically perfect baby bedtime chart?

No. Age-based ranges give you a starting point, but no bedtime chart guarantees good sleep, and no health body publishes one.

What if my baby only falls asleep late?

For a young newborn, a late bedtime is normal. If an older baby's bedtime keeps drifting later, check the timing of naps, the length of the final wake window, and what time the bedtime routine starts.

Sources

Disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. Baby sleep varies widely, and bedtime ranges are only starting points. If you are worried about your baby's health, breathing, feeding, growth, or sleep, speak to your health visitor, GP, or paediatrician.