Understanding Your Baby's Sleep Architecture
Unlike adults, who have 90-minute sleep cycles, newborns and infants have much shorter cycles (often 40-50 minutes). This is why babies "wake up" so frequently—they are moving between these light cycles and haven't yet learned to self-soothe back to sleep.
Total Sleep Needs by Age:
- Newborns (0-3m): 14-17 hours total, including frequent naps.
- Infants (4-11m): 12-15 hours total. Most babies drop to 2 naps by 9 months.
- Toddlers (1-2y): 11-14 hours total. Often transitions to 1 afternoon nap.
The 4-Month Sleep Regression
Around 4 months, a baby's sleep architecture changes to become more like an adult's. This transition often causes a temporary period of frequent night wakings. This is a developmental milestone, not a "problem" to be fixed!