Between ages 2 and 5 years, which best describes sleep pattern and duration?

• A. Biphasic; about 12 hours
• B. Monophasic; about 10 hours
• C. Polyphasic; about 14 hours
• D. Monophasic; about 8 hours

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that as children move from infancy into the preschool years, their sleep pattern tends to consolidate into one primary sleep period at night, with daytime napping gradually fading. This is described as monophasic sleep.

For ages 2 to 5, a single long nighttime sleep is typical, often totaling around 10 hours. Some children may need a bit more or less, but the overall pattern is a single, uninterrupted nocturnal sleep with little to no daytime napping by the upper end of this range. That’s why monophasic with about 10 hours best fits this stage.

The other descriptions imply multiple sleep blocks in a day (biphasic or polyphasic), which are more characteristic of younger toddlers or older children with different schedules, and 8 hours is generally too little while 14 hours is more than typical for this age.