A 22-month-old needs 11 to 14 hours of total sleep in a 24-hour period, including one daytime nap. Most toddlers this age get about 10 to 12 hours overnight and fill the rest with a single midday nap lasting 2 to 3 hours. That range comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics and applies to children between 1 and 2 years old.
What a Typical Day Looks Like
By 22 months, nearly all toddlers have consolidated to one nap per day. A common schedule looks something like this: wake at 7 a.m., nap from about 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., then bedtime around 7:30 p.m. The exact times will shift depending on your child’s natural wake-up, but the structure stays the same.
The key to making this work is paying attention to wake windows, which are the stretches of awake time your toddler can handle before getting tired. At 22 months, those windows run about 5.25 to 5.75 hours. The first window (from morning wake-up to the start of the nap) is typically a little shorter, around 5.25 hours. The second window (from the end of the nap to bedtime) can stretch slightly longer, closer to 5.75 hours. Pushing too far past those windows leads to overtiredness, which, counterintuitively, makes it harder for toddlers to fall asleep and stay asleep.
How to Tell Your Child Is Getting Enough Sleep
Total hours matter less than how your child actually functions during the day. Some 22-month-olds thrive on 12 hours; others need closer to 14. A few practical questions from Michigan Medicine can help you figure out whether your toddler is getting enough:
- Does your child fall asleep in the car almost every time you drive?
- Do you have to wake them almost every morning?
- Do they seem cranky, irritable, aggressive, overly emotional, or hyperactive during the day?
- Do they sometimes seem tired well before their usual bedtime?
If any of those sound familiar, your child likely needs more sleep. The fix is usually an earlier bedtime rather than adding a second nap back in, since most 22-month-olds can’t fit two naps into their day without it pushing bedtime too late.
The Nap Transition at This Age
Most toddlers drop from two naps to one somewhere between 13 and 18 months, so by 22 months your child has probably already made the switch. If yours is still on two naps or the transition feels rocky, the signs that they’re ready for one nap include consistently fighting one or both naps, taking very short naps, needing a late bedtime to fit both naps in, or waking frequently at night. These signs should show up for at least one to two weeks before you commit to the change. Occasional rough days don’t mean it’s time to restructure the whole schedule.
Once your toddler is solidly on one nap, aim for that nap to land in the early afternoon and last 2 to 3 hours. A nap that runs much longer can steal from nighttime sleep, while one that’s too short can leave your child overtired by evening.
Why Sleep Falls Apart Around This Age
If your 22-month-old was sleeping well and suddenly isn’t, you’re likely seeing the early edge of the 2-year sleep regression. It’s one of the more disruptive regressions because so many things are happening at once in your toddler’s development.
Physically, 22-month-olds are getting their 2-year molars, which can cause enough discomfort to wake them at night. Developmentally, they’re in the middle of a leap in language, physical coordination, and social awareness. Their brains are processing a lot, and that processing doesn’t pause conveniently at bedtime. Separation anxiety often peaks around this age too. Your toddler may suddenly insist you stay in the room until they fall asleep, or cry when you leave after saying goodnight.
New fears also emerge. At 22 months, children are beginning to imagine things that aren’t directly in front of them, which means they can now be afraid of the dark or of being alone in a way they couldn’t a few months earlier. And if their nap schedule has shifted recently, whether through shorter naps, nap refusal, or a schedule change at daycare, that disruption can cascade into worse nighttime sleep. An overtired toddler doesn’t sleep more deeply; they sleep more fitfully.
Making Those Hours Count
Consistency matters more than precision. You don’t need to hit exactly 13 hours every day, but keeping wake-up time, nap time, and bedtime within the same 30-minute window helps your child’s internal clock stay regulated. Toddlers at this age are creatures of routine, and predictability is one of the most effective sleep tools you have.
A short, repeatable bedtime routine (10 to 15 minutes of the same activities in the same order) signals to your child that sleep is coming. This is especially useful during regressions or periods of separation anxiety, because the routine itself becomes a source of comfort. Keep the room dark, keep the routine boring, and resist the urge to add stimulating activities like screens in the hour before bed. Beyond that, the goal is simply protecting those 11 to 14 hours and trusting that your child will find their own spot within that range.