Newborn baby sleep cycles

Newborns usually sleep for around 16 hours in every 24 hours. But all babies are different, and their sleep patterns can vary.

Newborns don’t know that people sleep at night. They usually sleep in short bursts through the day and night. Each sleep usually lasts 2-3 hours. Some newborns sleep for up to four hours at a time.

When newborns are awake, they’re usually feeding. After feeding, your baby will probably want to go back to sleep. This means that ‘playtime’ at this age is very short and usually consists of cuddles, bathing or short tummy time episodes.

Newborn sleep cycles

Newborns have two different kinds of sleep – active sleep and quiet sleep.

During active sleep, newborns move around a lot and make noises. They can be woken easily during active sleep.

During quiet sleep, newborns are still. Their breathing is deep and regular. They’re less likely to wake during quiet sleep.

When newborns sleep, they go through sleep cycles. Each newborn sleep cycle has both active sleep and quiet sleep, and takes about 40 minutes.

At the end of each cycle, newborns wake up for a little while. When your newborn wakes, he might grizzle, groan or cry. If your baby wakes at the end of a sleep cycle, you might need to help him settle for the next sleep cycle by softly patting or rocking.