Newborn Sleep: What’s Normal
Newborn Sleep: What’s Normal and How to Survive the Early Weeks
Welcome to the Fourth Trimester
The early weeks of your baby’s life, often called the "fourth trimester", can be intense. Sleep is fragmented, unpredictable, and for many new parents, incredibly overwhelming. You may find yourself asking:
“Why does my baby wake so often?”
“Is something wrong with their sleep?”
“Will I ever sleep again?”
The good news? Everything your baby is doing is biologically normal. Newborn sleep is not broken. But understanding what's normal and having some practical tools in your toolkit can make a world of difference.
What Does Normal Newborn Sleep Look Like?
Newborns (0–12 weeks) have very different sleep patterns from older babies, children, or adults. Here's what the research tells us:
Sleep is Polyphasic: Newborns sleep in multiple short bursts over a 24-hour period, typically needing 14–17 hours of total sleep per day (Hirshkowitz et al., 2015).
Day and Night Confusion is Common: Circadian rhythms aren’t fully developed at birth, so your baby doesn’t yet know the difference between night and day (Kennaway et al., 1996).
Sleep Cycles are Short: Newborns cycle through sleep phases every 50–60 minutes (Anders, 1978), compared to 90–120 minutes in adults.
They Spend More Time in Active Sleep: This light, twitchy sleep (similar to REM) helps the brain grow but also makes babies more likely to stir or wake.
Frequent Waking is Protective: Waking often reduces the risk of SIDS and supports feeding and bonding (Blair et al., 2006).
Why Does My Newborn Wake So Much?
Your baby wakes frequently because their biological needs are intense and immediate. Here’s why:
Hunger: Newborn stomachs are tiny, about the size of a walnut in the early days, so they need to feed often, including overnight.
Comfort and Safety: Human babies are born neurologically immature and rely on closeness to feel safe. Contact helps regulate their breathing, temperature, and heart rate.
Brain Development: Night waking and light sleep phases support the rapid brain growth that happens in the first few months.
This isn’t just normal, it’s essential.
How to Support Your Baby’s Sleep (and Your Sanity)
Children starting school need strong social and emotional foundations, often more than academic ones.
Name and express emotions: Use storybooks, role-play, and real-life moments to help your child recognise and talk about feelings like nervousness or excitement.
Playdates and group play: Opportunities to take turns, share, and resolve minor conflicts help children build essential peer skills.
Separation practice: Short, positive goodbyes over the summer can help children trust that you’ll always return.
Emotional readiness, not academic knowledge, is one of the strongest predictors of early school success (Denham et al., 2012; Blair & Raver, 2021).
While you can’t “fix” newborn sleep (because it isn’t broken), there are ways to support healthy sleep habits and protect your own wellbeing.
1. Set Realistic Expectations
Knowing what’s normal helps reduce pressure. Try to avoid comparing your baby to others or Googling at 3am.
2. Create a Calm Sleep Environment
Dim lights in the evening to create a cosy environment.
Use white noise to mimic the womb.
Keep the sleep space consistent and safe.
3. Support Day–Night Awareness
Expose your baby to natural daylight during the day and keep nights calm, quiet, and dark. Babies' brains typically start producing melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep, around 3-4 months of age. Prior to that, they rely on melatonin received from their mothers through the placenta during pregnancy and later through breast milk.
4. Use Responsive Settling
Responding to your baby’s cues helps build trust. It’s okay to feed or cuddle your baby to sleep in these early months, this isn’t creating “bad habits,” it’s supporting development.
5. Take Turns and Accept Help
If you’re parenting with a partner, divide the night into shifts or tag team feeds. Accept help with meals, housework, or older children when offered.
6. Sleep When Baby Sleeps… if You Can
It’s not always realistic, but even short naps during the day can help reduce sleep debt.
7. Stay Fed, Hydrated and Supported
You matter too. Eat, drink, and reach out. Exhaustion can make everything harder. If you’re feeling low or tearful often, speak to your health visitor or GP.
When to Seek Help
If your baby is extremely unsettled, feeding poorly, or not gaining weight, it’s important to speak to a health professional. Trust your instincts, you know your baby best. Also, if you are struggling to cope or feel overwhelmed, know that support is available and you are not alone. Download Our Free Newborn Sleep Guide.
Final Thoughts
Newborn sleep can feel relentless. But this phase is temporary and completely normal. Your baby isn’t “broken” and you aren’t doing anything wrong. With the right support and realistic expectations, you can get through these early weeks with more confidence (and maybe even a little more rest).
And remember: you're not alone. The Healthy Child Co. is here to support you every step of the way.
References
Anders, T. F. (1978). Home-Recorded Sleep in 2- and 9-Month-Old Infants. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 17(3), 421–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-7138(09)62287-2
Blair, P. S., Sidebotham, P., Evason-Coombe, C., Edmonds, M., Heckstall-Smith, E. M., & Fleming, P. (2006). Hazardous cosleeping environments and risk factors amenable to change: case-control study of SIDS in south west England. BMJ, 339, b3666. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b3666
Hirshkowitz, M., Whiton, K., Albert, S. M., Alessi, C., Bruni, O., DonCarlos, L., ... & Adams Hillard, P. J. (2015). National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health, 1(1), 40–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2014.12.010
Kennaway, D. J., Stamp, G. E., & Goble, F. C. (1996). Development of melatonin production in infants and the impact of prematurity. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 81(10), 3571–3577. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.81.10.8855807
Sadeh, A., Tikotzky, L., & Scher, A. (2010). Sleep problems in infancy and early childhood: implications for psychopathology. International Review of Psychiatry, 22(3), 296–307. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2010.485784
Ball, H. L. (2003). Breastfeeding, bed-sharing, and infant sleep. Birth, 30(3), 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-536X.2003.00236.x
Galland, B. C., Taylor, B. J., Elder, D. E., & Herbison, P. (2012). Normal sleep patterns in infants and children: a systematic review of observational studies. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 16(3), 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2011.06.001
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). (2021). Postnatal care. NICE guideline [NG194]. Retrieved from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng194
UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative. (2021). Caring for your baby at night. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/03/Caring-for-your-baby-at-night-web.pdf