This is an English rendering of a Polish public-health reference. The care paths it names (112, night and holiday care NiŚOZ, primary care POZ) are Polish. This is not medical advice.

PL

This is not medical advice Life-threatening emergency (Poland): 112

Home › Sleep

How much should a baby sleep at each month of life?

Applies to age: 0–12 months

In short

A child aged 0–12 months should sleep 15–18 hours a day (the youngest up to 20 hours). Some babies aged 6 months to a year sleep about 15 hours, mostly at night.

Sources: Portal Pacjenta, NHS, NFZ i Akademia NFZChecked: Report an error

What is normal

Some claims: international norm

  • A child aged 0–12 months should sleep 15–18 hours a day (the youngest up to 20 hours).
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    15–18 godzin (najmłodsze nawet do 20 godzin), jeśli ma 0–12 miesięcy

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [1]

  • Newborns wake at night because they need to be fed.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

  • At 3–6 months, some babies may sleep 5 to 8 hours or longer at night, but not all.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Some babies may sleep for 5 to 8 hours or longer at night, but not all.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

  • In some babies aged 6 months to a year, night feeds may no longer be needed, and some babies sleep about 15 hours, mostly at night.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    For some babies aged 6 months to a year, night feeds may no longer be necessary and some babies will sleep for around 15 hours, most of this at night.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

ER / 112 (Poland)

Some claims: international norm

Immediate medical help needed: international norm

  • A baby or a child under 5 years old who is not responding as usual, is not eating, is hard to wake or is sleepier than usual needs immediate medical help.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    is not responding like they normally do, is not feeding, is difficult to wake or is more sleepy than usual

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [2]

  • In Poland, when life or health is at risk, call 112 (the emergency number in Poland) or 999 (the ambulance number in Poland).
    Source: NFZ i Akademia NFZ – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Zadzwoń na 112 lub 999, jeśli zagrożone jest życie lub zdrowie.

    NFZ i Akademia NFZ · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-09 · license [3]

Myths

  • False Myth: “After a few months of life, every baby should already sleep through the night”

    Why it is wrong. At 3–6 months, some babies may sleep 5 to 8 hours or longer at night, but not all; some do not sleep through the night for a long time.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Some babies may sleep for 5 to 8 hours or longer at night, but not all.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

    Some soon sleep through the night, while some do not for a long time.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

international norm “International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

International norm

“International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

Sources

  1. Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl)
    License: CC BY 3.0 PL. Source: Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original.
  2. NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia)
    License: Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The summary is ours and is not attributed to the NHS.
  3. NFZ i Akademia NFZ
    License: Treści NFZ – wykorzystanie ze wskazaniem źródła, bez obrotu komercyjnego. Source: NFZ i Akademia NFZ. Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original.

See an error or outdated information? Report an error in this answer. Answer checked against the sources on October 12, 2026.

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