The short answer: most nurseries stay comfortable between 68 and 75°F (20 to 24°C), as long as your baby is dressed for the room. Sleep experts most often point to the cooler end of that, 68 to 72°F.* The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t give an exact number. Its guidance is about how you dress your baby: one more layer than you’d wear to be comfortable in the same space, no loose blankets, and no hat indoors once you’re home from the hospital.
* The 68 to 72°F range comes from sleep experts, including the Sleep Foundation. The AAP does not set a specific room temperature.
So the thermostat matters, but your baby matters more. A 70°F room with too many layers can still be too warm. A 68°F room with footed pajamas and a sleep sack can be just right. The best check is simple: feel your baby’s chest. If it feels hot or sweaty, take off a layer. If it feels cool, add one.
Below is how to get the room right at night, through the seasons, and what to do when the house won’t cooperate.
Where the 68 to 72°F number comes from
You’ll see 68 to 72°F almost everywhere. It comes from sleep researchers and groups like the Sleep Foundation, and it’s a reasonable target for most homes.
It isn’t an AAP rule, though, and real nurseries don’t hold a perfect 70°F all night. The AAP’s safe sleep guidance skips the number and focuses on two things you control every night: how your baby is dressed and what’s in the crib. That’s useful to know, because it means you don’t need to panic if your nursery reads 73°F on a warm night. You adjust the outfit.
Baby room temperature at night
Rooms change overnight. Heat kicks off, the AC cycles, a window lets in a draft. A few habits make the night steadier:
- Measure the temperature near the crib, not on the hallway wall. The nursery can run several degrees warmer or cooler than the rest of the house.
- Dress for the coolest part of the night if your heat drops after midnight, then check your baby before you go to bed yourself.
- Keep the crib bare. A fitted sheet and nothing else. If you’re worried about cold, the AAP suggests layers of clothing or a wearable blanket instead of a loose blanket.
- Skip the hat indoors. Hats can make babies too warm inside. The AAP and NIH Safe to Sleep both say to take it off once you’re home.
Pajamas, swaddles and sleep sacks: dressing for 68 to 75°F
Most babies sleep in more than a single onesie. Newborns are often in pajamas and a swaddle. Older babies move to footed pajamas and a sleep sack. That’s why the outfit matters as much as the thermostat.
- Newborns: pajamas plus a swaddle. The AAP says to stop swaddling as soon as your baby shows signs of trying to roll over.
- Older babies: footed pajamas plus a sleep sack, also called a wearable blanket. The AAP and Safe to Sleep both suggest a wearable blanket instead of a loose blanket.
- Skip weighted products. The AAP says not to use weighted blankets, sleepers or swaddles.
Thin vs. thicker sleep sacks. Sleep sacks come in different weights, and most brands label their warmth with a TOG rating. Lower numbers are thinner and cooler, and higher numbers are thicker and warmer. The pattern is simple:
- Cooler end of the range, a thicker sack over footed pajamas.
- Warmer end of the range, a thin sack, with lighter pajamas or a short-sleeve bodysuit underneath.
Pediatric groups don’t publish a sleep-sack chart, so follow the temperature guide on your sack’s label. Every brand’s chart is a little different. Whatever the outfit, check your baby’s chest. If it feels hot or sweaty, go lighter. If it feels cool, go warmer.
Is 74, 77 or 80 degrees too hot for a baby?
These are some of the most common questions parents search, usually on a warm night when the AC is struggling. There’s no official cutoff, so use the AAP’s one-more-layer rule and your baby’s chest as your guide.
At 74°F, you’re still in a comfortable range. Switch to a thin sleep sack and lighter pajamas. At 77°F, the room is above the usual range, so go lighter still and check on your baby more often. At 80°F, focus on cooling the space (AC, or a fan that moves air around the room, pointed away from the crib) and keep your baby in a single light layer.
Winter: keeping baby warm without overdoing it
Winter is when well-meaning parents tend to over-bundle. The house feels chilly to you, so you add a sleeper, then a swaddle, then turn the heat up. The result can be a baby who’s sweaty by 2am.
- Aim for 68 to 72°F, and resist cranking the heat above it.
- Layer the baby, not the bed. Footed pajamas plus a thicker sleep sack works better than any loose blanket.
- Watch space heaters. Keep them well away from the crib and never leave one running unattended.
- Check the chest, not the hands. Hands and feet can feel cooler than the rest of your baby. The chest or tummy gives you a better read before you add a layer.
Summer: when the room runs warm
- Lighter layers first. Swap to a thin sleep sack, or a short-sleeve bodysuit on its own if the room runs warm.
- Move the air. A fan helps the whole room feel cooler. Point it away from the crib.
- Block afternoon sun with blackout curtains so the room doesn’t store heat before bedtime.
- Check in more often on hot nights, especially if your AC is uneven.
How to tell if your baby is comfortable
The AAP and Safe to Sleep point to the same signs that a baby may be too warm:
- Sweating, or damp hair at the neck
- Flushed or red skin
- A chest that feels hot to the touch
Signs a baby may be too cool usually show up as a chest or tummy that feels cool, not just cold hands. Feel the chest or tummy, since those give you a better sense than fingers and toes.
If your baby often feels warm at night even when the room is right, our guide on why babies feel warm at night walks through the normal reasons.
What this monitor does, and doesn’t do
SightAware™ by Nonnanest reads your baby’s skin temperature contactlessly from up to about 4 feet away, with nothing on your baby and no WiFi, app or subscription. Its dedicated handheld display also shows the room temperature, measured right at the crib by the camera unit that sits above it, so you can see both at a glance: how warm the room is, and how your baby’s skin temperature is changing through the night. That makes it easier to know when to adjust the thermostat or swap a layer, without walking in and touching your baby.
It doesn’t replace a baby thermometer. If you need an actual temperature reading, or your pediatrician asks for one, use a thermometer. SightAware won’t tell you why your baby feels warm. Think of it as one more steady signal alongside your own instincts and the checks above.
When to call your pediatrician
Room temperature and layers solve most comfort questions. Call your pediatrician if:
- Your baby feels hot and stays that way after you’ve removed layers and cooled the room
- Your baby seems unusually sleepy, hard to wake, or hard to settle
- Your baby is younger than 3 months and something feels off
- You’re worried for any reason. Trust your instinct. You know your baby best.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature should a baby’s room be at night?
Most nurseries stay comfortable between 68 and 75°F when your baby is dressed for the room. Sleep experts most often suggest 68 to 72°F. The AAP doesn’t set a number. It recommends dressing your baby in one more layer than you’d wear in the same room.
Is 74 degrees too hot for a baby’s room?
Not usually. It’s within a comfortable range for most nurseries, though a little above the 68 to 72°F experts most often suggest. Use a thin sleep sack and lighter pajamas, and check their chest for sweat or heat.
Is 77 degrees too hot for a baby to sleep?
It’s on the warm side. Dress your baby in a single light layer, move the air with a fan pointed away from the crib, and check on them more often.
Is 80 degrees too hot for a baby?
It’s well above the range most experts suggest. Try to cool the room with AC or a fan, and keep your baby in a single light layer.
How do I know if my baby is too cold at night?
Feel their chest or tummy. If it feels cool, add a layer or switch to a warmer wearable blanket. Hands and feet can feel cooler than the rest of your baby, so the chest is the better check.
Should I use a thin or thick sleep sack?
Match it to the room. A thicker sack fits a cooler room near 68°F, and a thin one fits a warmer room near 75°F. Check the warmth rating on your sack’s label, since brands differ.
Should my baby wear a hat to sleep?
No. The AAP and NIH Safe to Sleep both recommend no hats indoors once you’re home from the hospital.
Sources
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: A Parent’s Guide to Safe Sleep
- NIH Safe to Sleep: Ways to Reduce Baby’s Risk
- Sleep Foundation: Best Room Temperature for a Sleeping Baby