When will my baby start sleeping through the night?

Sleep is essential for babies: it supports growth, development, brain maturation, as well as the immune system. An infant can sleep up to 20 hours a day! At first, their sleep cycles don’t match adults’ cycles at all and may seem a bit chaotic. So when does a baby actually start sleeping through the night?

May breaks it down for you.

What does it mean when a baby “sleeps through the night”?

You can say a child sleeps through the night starting at six consecutive hours of nighttime sleep.

For your baby to be able to sleep for that long without feeding, they need to build up energy reserves and also set their internal clock (develop what’s called the circadian rhythm, meaning 24-hour cycles with day and night—in other words, the same rhythm we have).

At what age do babies usually start sleeping through the night?

The question that haunts so many new parents! During your baby’s first months of life, their sleep will evolve. At birth, there are at least three major differences to know between the structure of their sleep and yours:

1- Their sleep cycles are very short: 40 to 50 minutes on average. At the end of each sleep cycle, your baby may wake up or fall back asleep. Up to one month, they may be able to link two or even three cycles fairly easily. After one month, linking cycles becomes more difficult because the sleep structure changes.

2- Between zero and three months, your baby’s sleep is structured in two phases: active sleep (REM sleep) and then quiet sleep (non-REM sleep). REM sleep represents about 80% of young infants’ sleep time. That’s why, when they fall asleep, they move, make noises, stretch, open their eyes… but they are sleeping! When they are in quiet sleep, you’ll notice a calm face, steady breathing, and relaxed feet, hands, and facial muscles.

3- Newborns don’t distinguish between day and night (the circadian rhythm we mentioned). What drives their wake-ups is the feeling of being full or hungry… day and night alike!

We observe that most babies start lengthening their nighttime sleep around six weeks of age, but that’s only an average, and it’s completely normal for your baby to wake up at night during the first months.

Also note that this longer stretch of sleep may happen between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. (so it’s not exactly ideal for parents’ sleep yet…).

In reality, your baby learns to sleep through the night (like everything else) at their own pace: every child is different, and if you have more than one, you’ll probably notice they don’t have the same relationship with sleep.

How can I help my baby sleep longer at night?

To help your baby sleep well, it’s essential to observe them and respond to their needs. Here are our techniques to help guide your baby into dreamland. Just a heads-up: there’s no miracle cure—if there were, we’d all know it! But we can still offer promising leads to explore:

Sleeping setup

For their sleep setup to be suitable, it’s important that it meets their need for “containment”: your baby would feel lost in a big bed. To fall asleep, they often like smaller sleep spaces (such as bassinets) where they can touch the sides.

In their bassinet, feel free to place your baby close to the edge so they can feel contact. They need to feel boundaries around them. Putting them in a well-fitted sleep sack can also reassure them.

Rhythm

At the beginning, your baby needs a lot of sleep—respect their rhythm: if they’re healthy, there’s no need to wake them up from daytime sleep. Parents often think that by depriving a baby of naps, they’ll sleep more at night, but that’s not true. You’d only disrupt their sleep rhythm.

The difference between day and night

This differentiation happens gradually, most often around 6–8 weeks of age. Here are a few ways to help your baby integrate it:

During the day, make normal noise; don’t close the shutters when they sleep—live as usual! Also expose them to daylight during a daily walk.

On the other hand, at night—even when you feed them—keep a calm, dim environment: try not to turn on all the lights and avoid making too much noise. Put them back down after feeding and limit handling as much as possible.

Crying

Avoid letting them cry: they’re very little and those cries express a need you should respond to. Your baby needs your presence to feel reassured.

Of course, some crying doesn’t always require your intervention. “Release crying” right before sleep may be necessary for your baby to let go of tensions built up during the day without being in a state of advanced stress (on the contrary, it can even help them!).

Are there soothing techniques that promote continuous sleep?

To soothe your baby and hope they sleep longer by linking sleep cycles, here are a few techniques that can do them a lot of good during the day:

Babywearing

Feeling held, close to you, rocked by your breathing, warm, they link sleep cycles more easily with babywearing because you’re meeting their need for security.

Babywearing easily recreates conditions similar to what they experienced in the womb. It’s a great daytime option that frees your hands while keeping your baby close to you. Not to mention all the oxytocin—the “happiness hormone”—released when your child is against you: it would be a shame to miss out!

Be careful: babywearing is recommended when you are active during the day; we recommend not using it when you are sleeping.

Swaddling

In the same way as babywearing, swaddling is also very effective because the newborn regains that sense of containment. Swaddling also helps reduce wake-ups related to the Moro reflex (an infant’s primitive reflex that makes them suddenly fling out their arms and legs).

Be careful: certain precautions must be taken to swaddle your baby safely, such as supervising your baby continuously. We invite you to check our swaddling guide on our May app.

Rocking

To remind them of the warmth and movement they had in the womb, feel free to rock them to help them fall asleep. Once they’re asleep, gently lay them down in their bed. To learn all our tips for putting a baby down without waking them, you can check our guide Tips for putting your newborn down without waking them on the May app.

This practice also strengthens the parent/child bond. Enjoy this loving moment!

Want to learn more? Feel free to download the May app, where you’ll find plenty of resources to support and guide you throughout your journey as a new parent.

What are the best practices for establishing a sleep routine for my baby?

During the first weeks of life, your baby falls asleep as soon as they’re full. So it’s difficult—and not very appropriate—to set up a routine during this period.

But as soon as your baby starts having slightly longer awake periods (generally around the second month), you can begin to establish sleep routines. This reassures them and helps you stay organized.

For example, you can offer sleep to your baby as soon as you notice the first signs of tiredness (crying, staring off into space, yawning, touching their ear, rubbing their eyes, getting fussy—even though these signs are hard to spot when your baby is very young…). To do that, place them in a calm setting, in your arms… The goal is to put them in reassuring conditions and in an environment that supports sleep. Also make sure to maintain a good room temperature (between 64°F and 68°F / 18–20°C), and don’t hesitate to stay with them in the room.

From four to six months, you can offer your baby a more established routine, including a more defined rhythm around feedings and naps.

In that context, while staying attentive to their tiredness cues, you can begin to offer sleep routines by putting your child in a sleep-friendly setup (for example, in their room with low light, wearing a sleep sack, in a calm environment, helping them drift off…).

In all situations and at any age, routines help children feel secure: same place, same atmosphere, same sequence… So don’t hesitate!

Good to know: the bedtime ritual must take your child’s level of tiredness into account. A child who is too tired is no longer able to enjoy the routine before sleep… That’s why it’s important to spot tiredness signs early so you can start the routine at the right time.

How can you manage nighttime wake-ups while waiting for your baby to sleep through the night?

All babies wake up at night. That’s completely normal.

But why these nighttime wake-ups? In the first months, it’s possible your baby is hungry. It’s essential to respond to that need. Your child can also wake up between cycles without being hungry. In that case, they call you because they want reassurance. It’s not a “tantrum”: your presence, your arms, the warmth of your body, your smell… are reassuring cues they need to fall back asleep. Don’t be afraid to respond—you won’t necessarily create bad habits at this age. The more you meet their needs, the more secure they’ll feel and the more they’ll be able to gain independence later on. You have everything to gain!

From four to six months, you can support your baby in learning to fall back asleep on their own between cycles by giving them a bit more autonomy at bedtime. In fact, babies often look for the same conditions to fall back asleep between cycles as the ones they had when they fell asleep at bedtime.

For example, if your child continues to ask for a bottle at night even though they get enough milk during the day, you can avoid including the bottle in the bedtime routine so your child learns to separate mealtime from sleep time.

💡In all cases:

Avoid rushing to your baby at the first noise—give them a chance to fall back asleep on their own. Between cycles, your baby may make noise without actually needing you.

Remember, as mentioned above, your baby isn’t waking you up at night to annoy you! This isn’t a tantrum—it’s the expression of a need: your presence, so they can fall back asleep.

Do you have other questions? Download the May app—our team of pediatric nurses is available 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to answer you.

What is the impact of sleep deprivation on parents, and how can you cope?

Sleep deprivation can have a major impact on you: irritability, difficulty concentrating, stress… Here are a few ideas to help you keep some energy in this hectic daily life:

• Rest when you can: sometimes you’re so exhausted that your body can’t even truly rest anymore. To help your body recover, try alternating between moments of alertness and downtime. Easier said than done, but you can carve out certain moments during the day to take a nap or do a relaxing activity (like listening to music). We also recommend saving your bed for nighttime only (avoid working in bed, for example), avoiding screens, and not exercising within 2 hours of bedtime to create the best possible conditions for sleep. These are just tips—do what you can. The main thing is to take care of yourself!
• Eat a balanced diet: we know—it’s a tough mission for new parents who lack time. But food remains the fuel of our lives. A few tips to help you during this period: try to stay well hydrated; we also recommend avoiding coffee or alcohol, and eating at regular times. To save time, you might consider planning your weekly meals and/or batch cooking (prepping in one go to make several meals for the week). That way, you won’t have to think about cooking during the week.

For more details, we invite you to consult our guide Parental fatigue: how to physically recover? on the May app!

In summary, don’t put pressure on yourself for your baby to sleep through the night—even though we know it can be hard when people keep asking you about it. Every child moves at their own pace. The best advice is to take care of yourself! If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to ask your questions via our May messaging service, open 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Photo: King_satriaru

This text was translated from French by an artificial intelligence. The information, advice, and sources it contains comply with French standards and may therefore not apply to your situation. Make sure to complement this reading by visiting the May US/UK app and consulting the healthcare professionals who are supporting you.