Your newborn baby's sleep cycle

A sleep cycle is one round of the different sleep phases. Adults have a sleep cycle of one and a half to two hours, during which we go through approximately 4 sleep phases. From light to deep sleep and to REM sleep, of course. Your newborn baby’s sleep cycle runs along entirely different lines. First of all, it is a lot shorter; namely, it lasts for about 45 minutes to an hour. Your baby’s cycle also consists of only two phases: a REM sleep and a deep sleep, also called active and quiet sleep. Adults start with a deep sleep and only then move into the REM phase, while it works the other way around in babies. That’s why it can take a while for your baby to calm down if you’ve just put him or her to bed.

Because your newborn baby’s sleep cycle is so much shorter, it may cause some problems. By paying attention to the phases of active and quiet sleep, things will go a lot better! We’ll discuss some common challenges:

• Your baby instantly wakes up when you put him or her down to go to sleep
  Because your baby sleeps very lightly at the start of the sleep cycle, you may simply put him or her down to sleep too soon. Your baby is still in the active sleep phase, so he or she will wake up when you put him or her down. Wait a little longer and make sure your baby is truly in deep sleep before you put him or her down in the cot.
• Your baby is awake again after just under an hour
  This is because his or her sleep cycle has ended. Adults can link their sleep cycles much better, but babies are not yet able to do so. Especially newborn babies often go through this type of catnap first but later learn to sleep for longer periods.
• Your baby sleeps longer at night but only does catnaps during the day
  Babies are often a lot more tired at night. At night, their deep sleep can also last longer, so they also sleep longer at night than during the day. Perhaps you are putting your baby down for a nap too soon during the day, even before he or she is truly tired.

Are you experiencing other problems? Do you need more tips? Then download our app! There you will find a useful forum where you can share your experiences with other new parents. Ideal!

A newborn baby cannot yet link sleep cycles and will therefore wake up more often. Once your baby is a bit older, it will automatically get better. You can also do some things yourself to extend your baby’s sleep cycle, or at least the duration of the nap, such as:

• Creating an optimal sleeping environment
  A dark room, not too hot, not too cold… This will all help your baby to fall and stay asleep!
• Setting up a clear sleep routine
  Allow your baby to get used to the same procedure before bedtime. This will help your baby automatically become sleepy when you follow this procedure. This may take the form of feeding, reading a book, etc.
• Don’t take your baby out of bed between cycles
  Your child may be a little restless between sleep phases, but if your baby doesn’t cry, feel free to leave him or her alone for a while. It can take up to half an hour for your child to fall asleep again!

A newborn baby sleeps around 14 to 18 hours a day. But every baby is different, which is why there is no generally applicable sleep schedule or routine that fits all children. We have published another article about babies’ sleep rhythms, which provides additional information!