Newborns and Sleep 101

“Sleep like a baby” is a common saying that alludes to how soundly babies sleep. For pediatricians and new parents alike, this phrase may be totally lost to us as we navigate newborn sleep patterns that are far from a steady, sound sleep. Here are some tips for new parents to understand and better anticipate their newborns’ sleep patterns.

How much do newborns sleep?

Newborns sleep a LOT, up to 17 hours a day. In the first weeks, a baby’s awake time may only be 20-30 mins before they go back to sleep. Their bodies require a lot of sleep to grow and transition through this newborn phase. With each passing week, a baby’s awake period may lengthen from 30 mins to 1 hour long, but in the first month, it will seem like they sleep for hours during the day, which is completely normal.

How long is a normal newborn sleep cycle?

If you are wondering why your baby seems to be so restless in his sleep, that is because his sleep cycles are shorter than yours, averaging 20-50 minutes long per cycle. Newborn babies spend the majority of their sleep cycles in REM, which can involve dreaming, light movements and sounds. Biologically, these short spurts of sleep help babies wake up frequently to feed, especially in the newborn period when they need more frequent feedings to stabilize their blood sugar. As they grow past the newborn phase, infants and older children will sleep longer as their sleep cycles lengthen as well.

What can you do to help your baby sleep?

While there is so much joy in raising a newborn, caring for a newborn is also one of the most trying times for new parents who are chronically sleep deprived. Your newborn may want to stay up in the middle of the night to play and coo, wake up every 90 mins to 2.5 hours, and seem more awake at night than during the day.

You are not alone! Many parents struggle with this. It’s so important for you to get some sleep.

Some parents share different shifts at night: while one parent attends to the crying baby in the first half of the night, the other parent attends to the baby in the latter half. Night after night, chronic sleep deprivation can make caring for a newborn much harder. We recommend asking for support from close friends and family who can step in to let you rest during the day.  

It is normal for newborns to be more awake at night before the day-night schedule reverses to sync with ours. To help your newborn learn nighttime from daytime; we recommend keeping lights low in the night time and opening all the windows to let light in during the daytime. This will help cue your baby when it is bright it is daytime and time to be awake, and when it is night and dark it is time to rest.

Sleep is one of the key aspects of caring for a newborn that we talk about during your newborn visits with your pediatrician. We know that you are doing the hardest job as a new parent, adjusting and transitioning into this completely new phase. We are here to help you anticipate, plan and come up with practical solutions during this exciting yet challenging phase.