What Time Should My Baby Go to Bed?
One of the most searched baby sleep questions online.
What time should my baby go to bed?
And underneath it, what most parents are really asking is:
Am I getting this right?
When a parent asks me about baby bedtime, I don't hear a question about a clock time.
I hear confusion.
Overwhelm.
Fear of getting it wrong.
Fear of someone judging their choices.
Especially for first-time parents, baby bedtime can feel like a test you're desperate to pass. You've read that 7pm is ideal. Or that early bedtimes prevent overtiredness. Or that a late bedtime will damage sleep forever.
So you just want clarity.
You want reassurance that you're doing the right thing.
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There isn't a universal baby bedtime because there isn't a universal baby - sleep isn't a one-size-fits-all chart. I've explored this in more depth in Is There a Gold Standard for Baby Sleep?, if you'd like to dive further into why averages mislead and how biology really works.
Two eight-month-olds can have completely different total sleep needs. One may need 15 hours in 24. Another may need 12. If you give both a rigid 7pm bedtime without looking at their overall sleep, one of them is going to push back.
And it won't be because they're "bad at sleep."
Bedtime is shaped by:
Morning wake-up time
Total sleep across 24 hours
Nap timings
Your baby's sleep needs – low, average, or high
Their emotional regulation that evening
The clock is only one small piece of the puzzle.
The Problem With "Early Bedtime Fixes Everything"
One of the biggest patterns I see is parents putting their baby down earlier and earlier because they're frightened of overtiredness.
Overtiredness has become the villain of modern parenting.
Parents are told:
"If they stay up too long, they'll wake all night."
"If bedtime isn't early enough, you've ruined it."
But the evidence simply doesn't support the idea that stretching a baby slightly automatically causes chaos.
What I see far more often is this:
A baby goes to bed at 6pm.
They wake at 4:30am.
That's ten and a half hours overnight. For many babies, that's completely within a healthy biological range.
The issue isn't that they're overtired.
It's that their sleep is landing at times that don't suit the household.
And when bedtime keeps getting pulled earlier in an attempt to "fix" it, the body clock often shifts earlier too.
When Early Waking Is About Rhythm, Not More Sleep
If your baby is waking at 4 or 5am, it's rarely because they need more night sleep. More often, their total sleep over 24 hours is already being met - it's just landing earlier than you'd prefer.
If early mornings are your current struggle, you might find this helpful: Early Morning Wakings – Practical Strategies for Babies and Toddlers.
Sleep isn't missing. It's simply positioned earlier in the day.
And here's where the cycle quietly locks in.
Early wake.
Early first nap.
Sleep pressure drops too soon in the day.
Bedtime needs to be early again.
Round and round it goes.
The solution isn't always tweaking bedtime when the real issue is how sleep is sitting across the whole 24 hours.
More often, it's about gently nudging the entire rhythm forward. Holding that first nap slightly later. Supporting regulation in the early morning. Allowing sleep pressure to build a little more before bedtime.
It's not about forcing more sleep.
It's about shifting where the sleep sits.
Baby Sleep Pressure - Why Timing Matters More Than the Clock
Sleep pressure builds like a running tap filling up a cup.
In the morning, the cup is mostly empty. As your baby stays awake, that cup gradually fills. As it fills, they start to get ready for sleep.
Now here's the part that often gets misunderstood.
The purpose of naps isn't to completely empty the cup.
A nap simply takes some of the sleep pressure away. It reduces the level in the cup so your baby can comfortably stay awake again. But it doesn't reset everything back to zero.
Throughout the day, that cup is gradually filling and partially emptying. Filling and partially emptying. And by bedtime, we want it to be properly full again - not half full, and not overflowing.
If naps are very long, or if the last nap finishes too close to bedtime, they can drain too much from the cup. And when that happens, there simply isn't enough sleep pressure left by the end of the day to help your baby fall asleep easily, and stay asleep.
And that's when you see:
False starts.
Long settling.
Early mornings creeping in.
Not because something is wrong.
But because the cup isn't full yet.
Timing and Calm Go Hand in Hand
Sleep pressure and regulation work together, and calm matters as much as timing. If you want to explore this more deeply, I share why calm is foundational to better sleep in Why Calm Matters Most for Baby and Toddler Sleep.
This is where nuance matters.
You can get the timing right, but if you're rushed, tense, and desperate to get downstairs to your dinner, your baby will feel that.
You can create the perfect sleep environment, but if your nervous system is activated, theirs often will be too.
Equally, you can be beautifully calm, but if the timing is miles off, settling will be harder work.
The two work together.
Sleep pressure and regulation.
Timing and calm.
When both are supported, bedtime feels easier. Not perfect. But easier.
Total Sleep Needs Matter More Than the Clock
This is the piece I wish more parents understood.
Most wake windows and sleep apps are based on averages - often high averages.
If you have a lower sleep needs baby, you cannot force them to sleep more than they biologically need.
You can add calm.
You can tweak timing.
You can dim lights and sing lullabies.
But you cannot override biology.
If you have a higher sleep needs baby and you reduce their sleep to match someone else's chart, you'll likely see dysregulation and unsettled behaviour.
The key is understanding your unique baby's total sleep needs and working with them, not against them.
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Browse the sleep guides →If Your Baby's Bedtime Feels Tricky
Take your eye off the clock.
If you find yourself watching the minutes, worrying about how long it's taking, or rushing because you've got something waiting downstairs, that tension creeps in.
Prepare yourself as much as you prepare your baby.
Eat first.
Have a drink nearby.
Get comfortable.
Assume it might take a while.
When you stop rushing, calm comes more easily.
And once calm is there, sleep follows.
Not because you hit 7pm exactly.
But because everything is aligned.
Frequently Asked Questions About Baby Bedtime
What is the best bedtime for a baby?
There is no single best bedtime for a baby. The ideal baby bedtime depends on morning wake-up time, total sleep over 24 hours, nap timing, sleep pressure, and how regulated your baby is by the end of the day.
Is 7pm the ideal bedtime for babies?
7pm works for some babies, but it is not a universal rule. For some families it leads to false starts or early waking if total sleep needs have already been met.
Is 6pm too early for a baby's bedtime?
A 6pm bedtime isn't automatically too early. For some families, it works well - especially if they'd prefer an evening to themselves and are happy with a very early start to the day.
The key is understanding the trade-off. If your baby is consistently waking at 4 or 5am, an early bedtime is most probably reinforcing that rhythm. But if an early wake suits your household, then it isn't a problem to address.
It always comes back to total sleep over 24 hours and whether the rhythm works for your family.
Does an early bedtime prevent night waking?
No, it doesn't. There's a lot of advice suggesting frequent night waking is due to late bedtimes. In reality, if you try to extend beyond what your baby naturally needs overnight, it will lead to more night waking. You cannot force more sleep than your baby needs.
Why does my baby wake 30 minutes after bedtime?
This is often what's known as a false start. It usually happens when there isn't quite enough sleep pressure built up yet, so bedtime ends up acting more like a late nap. It can also happen if your baby wasn't fully regulated before being put down. If the cup isn't properly full, or calm hasn't quite landed, they're more likely to wake after that first sleep cycle.
What time should a 4-month-old go to bed?
At 4 months, wake windows are still short - usually around a couple of hours 0 and sleep tends to be spread across more frequent naps during the day. Rather than watching the clock, the more useful question is: how long has your baby been awake since their last nap, and how settled do they seem? That's your real guide at this stage. Bedtime may still vary from day to day depending on how naps have landed, and that's completely normal.
What time should a 6-month-old go to bed?
At 6 months, many babies are moving towards 2 naps and wake windows are beginning to stretch. Bedtime will shift depending on when the last nap ended and how much sleep your baby has already had across the day. If your baby is regularly waking early or struggling to settle, it's worth looking at the full 24-hour picture rather than simply adjusting bedtime in isolation - the whole rhythm matters far more than the specific hour.
What time should an 8-month-old go to bed?
At eight months, most babies are on two naps and wake windows are lengthening. While bedtime will shift slightly depending on when the last nap ends, it’s often more helpful to anchor the day with a consistent morning wake-up time.
A regular start to the day helps stabilise the body clock. From there, naps and bedtime naturally fall into place based on wake windows and total sleep across 24 hours.
Rather than chasing the “perfect” bedtime, think in terms of rhythm:
When did the last nap end?
How long can your baby comfortably stay awake?
How much total sleep are they managing overall?
What time should a 1-year-old go to bed?
By 12 months, most babies have moved to one nap and wake windows have lengthened considerably. Bedtime will largely be determined by when that nap falls and how long your baby can comfortably manage before the end of the day. A baby who naps later in the afternoon will naturally be ready for bed later than one whose nap ends mid-afternoon. Total sleep across 24 hours remains the most useful guide - the clock is just one small part of that picture.
What time should a toddler go to bed?
Toddler bedtime varies enormously and is heavily influenced by whether they're still napping, when that nap falls, and their individual sleep needs. Many toddlers settle well somewhere between 7pm and 8:30pm, though some thrive on earlier or later bedtimes depending on temperament and household rhythm. What matters most is that there's enough wake time between the end of the nap and bedtime for sleep pressure to build properly. If your toddler is fighting bedtime, it's often not about the hour — it's about whether the conditions for sleep are genuinely there.
What is a good bedtime routine for a baby?
A good bedtime routine for a baby doesn't need to be long or elaborate. The most important elements are predictability and calm - a reassuring sequence that signals sleep is coming. Something simple like, a bath, a story, a feed and a song works well for many families. Aim for around 20–30 minutes in total. What matters most isn't the specific activities you choose, but the quality of calm you bring to them. A short, settled routine is worth far more than a lengthy one delivered in a rush.
If you're asking what time your baby should go to bed, it probably isn't really about the clock.
It's about wanting reassurance. Wanting to know you're not getting it wrong.
And the truth is, there isn't one perfect bedtime.
There's your baby's rhythm.
There's their total sleep needs.
And there's what works for your family.
When you understand that, bedtime stops feeling like a test you have to pass, and starts feeling like something you can respond to with confidence
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