22-Month-Old Sleep Schedule: Naps & Wake Windows

Searching for a 22-month-old sleep schedule because bedtime just turned into a nightly negotiation, or your toddler announced for the first time that they're scared of the dark? You're in the right place.

A 22-month-old sleep schedule means one nap of 60-120 minutes in the early afternoon, plus 10-12 hours overnight, for 11-14 total hours in 24 hours.¹ Wake windows run 5-6 hours before the nap and 4-5 hours from nap to bedtime, usually 6:30-8:00 PM.² Bedtime fights at this age typically mean a transition, not a broken schedule.

This covers the actual numbers, why an otherwise-settled toddler can suddenly start resisting sleep, and how to tell those two things apart. For the bigger picture of how these numbers change year to year, see our full year-by-year sleep guide.

What Does a 22-Month-Old Sleep Schedule Look Like? Naps, Wake Windows, and Total Sleep

Most 22-month-olds need 11-14 hours of sleep across 24 hours: one nap of 60-120 minutes, plus 10-12 hours overnight, per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's pediatric sleep consensus.¹ Wake windows follow the same one-nap pattern: roughly 5-6 hours from morning wake to the start of the nap, then 4-5 hours from the end of the nap to bedtime.²

Total sleep (24 hours)	11-14 hours
Night sleep	10-12 hours
Daytime sleep	1-2 hours (1 nap)
Nap duration	60-120 minutes
Wake window: wake to nap	5-6 hours
Wake window: nap end to bedtime	4-5 hours
Bedtime	6:30-8:00 PM
Night wakings	0-1 (brief arousals)

Treat these as reference points, not targets. A toddler who consistently sleeps 10.5 hours at night and wakes up in a good mood is not under-sleeping just because they land under the range. For the full chart of how these windows change month by month, see our wake windows by age guide.

The wake windows matter more than the clock does. A nap that starts after 3:30-4:00 PM pushes bedtime into resistance territory, either because there isn't time to rebuild enough sleep pressure or because the toddler ends up overtired past the ideal window. Skipping the nap without moving bedtime earlier has the same effect: overtiredness, not better night sleep. And waking before 6:00 AM compresses the whole morning window. That destabilizes the rest of the day.

Why Do 22-Month-Olds Suddenly Fight Sleep When Their Schedule Hasn't Changed?

By 22 months, sleep cycles have lengthened well past the roughly 45-50-minute cycles of early infancy, moving toward something closer to an hour. Full adult-style NREM/REM cycling, closer to 90 minutes, doesn't arrive until the school-age years, so that process is still underway at this age.³ ⁴ Here's what that means for a parent: whatever is disrupting sleep at 22 months is not newborn-style neurological immaturity. It's something else, usually a collision between the autonomy drive and what sleep requires, plus a cluster of transitions that tend to land in this exact age window.

Picture the scene: standing at the crib rail refusing to lie down, asking for one more hug for the fourth time, or announcing, for the first time ever, that they're scared of the dark. Many parents describe some version of this exact moment at 22 months, and it can feel like a step backward from a toddler who used to go down without a fight.

Autonomy is the single most useful frame for understanding it. The same developmental drive that makes a 22-month-old insist on "me do it" and refuse help also makes them resist the loss of control that sleep requires. The American Academy of Pediatrics describes two-year-olds as spending "most of their time testing limits," with frustration when a limit holds.⁵ Bedtime is one of the biggest limits in a toddler's day: lie down, stay still, let go. It makes sense that the same child fighting you over shoes fights you over sleep, too. Sleep Foundation independently names a toddler's "increased sense of independence" as a common driver of exactly this kind of bedtime resistance.⁶

Fear of the dark showing up for the first time fits the same pattern. Many toddlers develop a first-time fear of the dark, monsters, or unfamiliar noises somewhere around this stage, and it's worth taking seriously rather than dismissing. Imagination is one of the fastest-moving skills right now, which is also why pretend play tends to appear around this age: a brain that can newly imagine something is also newly capable of imagining something scary that isn't actually there. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends validating the fear rather than arguing a toddler out of it.⁷ A dim night light, enough to offer comfort without lighting up the whole room, helps too.⁸

None of this happens in isolation. Cot-to-bed pressure from climbing, a nursery room change, a new sibling, dummy weaning: these transitions genuinely cluster around 22 months, and they tend to compound each other rather than stay separate. Sleep Foundation's general guidance for this stage is blunt about it: try not to introduce more than one significant change at a time.⁹

Is It the Schedule or the Transition? A Quick Way to Tell

The good news: most 22-month-old sleep disruptions are not a sign the schedule is wrong. The single-nap, 11-14 hour structure stays developmentally correct through age 2-3.¹ Bedtime problems and night waking affect roughly 20-30% of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, which makes this kind of disruption expected developmental noise, not evidence that something has broken.¹⁰ Use the table below to work out which situation you're actually in.

Symptom	It's the schedule	It's the transition load
Nap refusal	Happens every single day for 2+ weeks; no overtiredness signs when skipped	Happens on and off; toddler is visibly more tired, cranky, or clingy on skip days
Bedtime resistance	New, and nap or wake-window timing recently changed	Started right around a cot-to-bed switch, new sibling, nursery move, or dummy weaning
Night waking	Frequent and was never really resolved before	Reappeared after a period of solid sleep, alongside a specific life change
Fear of the dark	Not a schedule issue	First time this has happened; toddler can now describe or point to what scares them
What fixes it	Adjusting nap timing, wake windows, or bedtime by 15-30 minutes	Consistency, reassurance, and time; the schedule itself doesn't need to change

What Does a Full Day Look Like for a 22-Month-Old?

The exact clock times change with wake time, but the structure holds: wake, roughly 5-6 hours awake, one nap of 60-120 minutes, then roughly 4-5 hours awake again before bed.²

Wake time	Nap	Bedtime
6:00 AM (early riser)	12:00-1:30 PM	6:30-7:00 PM
7:30 AM (later riser)	1:00-2:30 PM	7:30-8:00 PM

A toddler who wakes at 6:00 AM, naps from noon to 1:30 PM, and goes down around 6:45 PM is on a completely typical schedule, even though that bedtime feels early to a lot of parents who are used to older-kid hours. Wondering whether your toddler's total hours actually add up to enough? See is my baby sleeping enough for how to check.

The bedtime routine is the single highest-leverage tool at this age. A consistent 20-40 minute sequence (bath or wash, pyjamas, a book or two, a brief and predictable goodbye) does more to settle a toddler than almost anything else in the schedule. Toddlers 12-47 months old whose families kept a consistent bedtime routine had fewer night wakings and longer sleep than those without one.¹¹ That said, a routine works best as part of a broader, consistent approach to bedtime, not as a standalone fix on its own.¹⁰ Letting the toddler make small, bounded choices inside the routine (which pyjamas, which book) can defuse some of the autonomy pushback without changing the sequence itself.⁹

My 22-Month-Old Won't Nap. Do I Need to Drop It?

No. The move from one nap to no nap at all commonly begins between 2 and 3 years, though the real range is wider: research on nap transitions puts it anywhere from 2 to 8 years old, and fewer than 2.5% of children stop napping before age 2.¹² A 22-month-old refusing the nap most days is almost always a phase, not a sign they're ready to drop it.

Hold a quiet rest period in the cot or bed instead of cutting the nap. Sleep often starts 15-30 minutes after the initial protest, once the toddler has stopped resisting and the room is quiet. If no sleep happens at all on a given day, move bedtime 30-45 minutes earlier that night to head off overtiredness.

Rebecca M. C. Spencer, PhD, and Tracy Riggins, PhD, the psychologists behind a 2022 study on nap transitions published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, put it plainly: "Nap transitions cannot be determined by age."¹² Real readiness signs look different from a refusal phase: consistently not sleeping at nap time for 4-6 weeks straight, no overtiredness in the afternoon on skipped days, and night sleep staying stable without needing an earlier bedtime to compensate.¹³ Most 22-month-olds show none of these. What they show instead is a short nap strike that resolves with a held rest period and some patience. For the full breakdown of what real readiness looks like versus a phase, see when to drop a nap. For how nap counts change at every age and stage, see our baby nap schedule by age guide.

Other common problems at this age: naps under 45 minutes (less common than in infancy, and less responsive to intervention), stalling tactics at bedtime, and night feeds. Night feeds aren't nutritionally necessary by 22 months, but continuing them isn't harmful if a family chooses to.¹⁴

Signs Your 22-Month-Old's Schedule Actually Needs to Change

Most 22-month-olds don't need a schedule change. They need the current one held steady through whatever transition is happening. Real signs an adjustment is due look different from ordinary resistance: the nap consistently pushing past 3:30-4:00 PM, waking before 5:30 AM for multiple weeks running, or overtiredness (a second wind of hyperactive energy, escalating meltdowns, real trouble settling despite obvious exhaustion) showing up daily no matter how consistent the routine is.

Unfortunately, signs of overtiredness and undertiredness can look similar from the outside, which is part of why parents second-guess the schedule. Overtired toddlers often get a wired "second wind," melt down over small things, and paradoxically wake earlier the next day rather than sleeping in. Undertired toddlers, by contrast, tend to resist the nap or bedtime specifically at the start, without the same escalating distress once they're actually down. For the full list of overtiredness red flags at every age, see our overtired baby signs guide.

One thing worth knowing: cot-to-bed timing isn't driven by a birthday. The American Academy of Pediatrics frames the switch as prompted by a toddler climbing out of the cot, not by reaching a particular age, and most toddlers do better staying in the cot until 2.5-3 years.¹⁵

What This Means for You Tonight

1. Keep the nap. Don't cut it just because it's being fought most days. A nap strike is not the same thing as readiness to drop it.
2. Hold bedtime steady through the transition. The routine, not the child, is usually the lever that needs adjusting.
3. If fear of the dark just started, name it plainly ("it's dark, I'm here, you're safe") instead of arguing it away. It's a real developmental step, not manipulation.
4. If more than one transition is stacking right now (a new sibling, a nursery move, a cot-to-bed switch), don't add another one on purpose until things settle.

The overtired loop is easy to fall into and hard to climb out of. One parent on r/sleeptrain described a 22-month-old "stuck in a short nap cycle for almost 2 months" — a previously independent sleeper now taking 10 to 20 minute naps and falling asleep sitting up (r/sleeptrain, May 2026).

More by age: 21-month sleep schedule · 23-month sleep schedule · every age in one place

FAQ

How many naps should a 22-month-old take?

One nap, typically 60-120 minutes, in the early-to-mid afternoon.² Most toddlers completed the move from two naps to one well before this age, usually by 15-18 months, so a single nap landing somewhere around noon to 1 PM and running an hour to two hours is the expected pattern at 22 months. If the nap is consistently running shorter than 45 minutes or later than 3:30-4:00 PM, that's worth adjusting; a single short or late nap here and there isn't cause for concern.

What time should a 22-month-old go to bed?

Between 6:30 and 8:00 PM, roughly 4-5 hours after the nap ends.² That's earlier than a lot of parents expect for a toddler who seems increasingly like a "big kid," but the wake-window math holds regardless of how mature a 22-month-old seems during the day. A later bedtime usually means the nap ended later that day, not that the toddler has outgrown an earlier bedtime.

Why is my 22-month-old suddenly afraid of the dark?

This commonly shows up for the first time somewhere in the toddler stage, and it's tied to fast-moving imagination rather than anything going wrong. A brain that's newly capable of pretend play is also newly capable of picturing something scary that isn't actually there. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends taking the fear seriously rather than dismissing it, and a dim night light plus a simple, repeated reassurance ("it's dark, I'm here, you're safe") tends to help more than trying to reason a toddler out of being scared.⁷

Should I move my 22-month-old to a toddler bed?

Not based on age alone. The cot-to-bed switch is usually prompted by a toddler climbing out, not by reaching a specific birthday, and most toddlers do better staying in the cot until 2.5-3 years.¹⁵ If climbing has become a genuine fall risk, lowering the cot mattress to its lowest setting or using a cot tent can buy time safely before a full bed transition is necessary.

My 22-month-old fights the nap every day. Is she ready to drop it?

Almost certainly not yet. The move to no nap commonly begins between 2 and 3 years, and the researchers who study nap transitions are explicit that the timing can't be predicted from age alone; some children hold onto a nap well past their third birthday.¹² Daily refusal at 22 months is far more often a phase than a genuine readiness signal. Hold a quiet rest period rather than cutting the nap, and watch for real readiness signs (weeks of no sleep at rest time, no afternoon overtiredness, stable night sleep) before concluding she's actually done.

Is it normal for a 22-month-old to start waking at night again after sleeping through?

Yes. Night waking that reappears around this age is usually tied to a developmental leap, a specific transition (a new sibling, a nursery change, a cot-to-bed switch), or a newly emerging fear, not evidence that something is wrong with the schedule itself. It typically settles again within a few weeks once the underlying transition has been consolidated and the bedtime routine has stayed consistent.

Sources

1. Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D'Ambrosio C, et al. "Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2016;12(6):785-786. https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.5866
2. Sleep Foundation (medically reviewed by Nilong Vyas, MD, MPH). "How Long Should a 2-Year-Old Nap?" https://www.sleepfoundation.org/napping/how-long-should-a-2-year-old-nap
3. Lenehan SM, Fogarty L, O'Connor C, Mathieson S, Boylan GB. "The Architecture of Early Childhood Sleep Over the First Two Years." Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2023;27(2):226-250. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9925493/
4. Lopp S, Navidi W, Achermann P, LeBourgeois M, Diniz Behn C. "Developmental Changes in Ultradian Sleep Cycles across Early Childhood: Preliminary Insights." Journal of Biological Rhythms. 2017;32(1):64-74. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5584621/
5. American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org. "Emotional Development: 2 Year Olds." Updated 9/1/2022. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/Pages/emotional-development-2-year-olds.aspx
6. Sleep Foundation (medically reviewed by Ealena Callender, MD, MPH, FACOG). "18-Month Sleep Regression." https://www.sleepfoundation.org/baby-sleep/18-month-sleep-regression
7. American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org. "Understanding Childhood Fears and Anxieties." Updated 9/27/2023. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/emotional-problems/Pages/Understanding-Childhood-Fears-and-Anxieties.aspx
8. American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org. "Sleep and Health: Why Rest Matters for Your Child, and Your Whole Family." Michelle Loy, MD, FAAP. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/Sleep-and-Mental-Health.aspx
9. Sleep Foundation (medically reviewed by Ealena Callender, MD, MPH, FACOG). "Perfecting Your Child's Bedtime Routine." https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/bedtime-routine
10. Morgenthaler TI, Owens J, Alessi C, et al. "Practice Parameters for Behavioral Treatment of Bedtime Problems and Night Wakings in Infants and Young Children." SLEEP. 2006;29(10):1277-1281. https://aasm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/PP_NightWakingsChildren.pdf
11. Covington LB, Rogers VE, Armstrong B, Storr CL, Black MM. "Toddler Bedtime Routines and Associations with Nighttime Sleep Duration, and Maternal and Household Factors." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2019;15(6):865-871. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6557658/
12. Spencer RMC, Riggins T. "Contributions of Memory and Brain Development to the Bioregulation of Naps and Nap Transitions in Early Childhood." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2022;119(44):e2123415119. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9636905/ (Companion: Staton S, Rogers V, Cooper K, et al. "Nap-cessation trends in early childhood." Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2020;50:101247. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31862445/. Fewer than 2.5% of children stop napping before age 2.)
13. Sleep Foundation (medically reviewed by Nilong Vyas, MD, MPH). "When Should Kids Stop Taking Regular Naps?" https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/when-do-kids-stop-napping
14. World Health Organization. "Complementary Feeding." https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241548366
15. American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org. "Big Kid Beds: When to Switch From a Crib." Rachel Y. Moon, MD, FAAP. Updated 8/1/2022. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/Big-Kid-Beds-When-To-Make-the-Switch.aspx

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