8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Needs to Know

When we know why our baby is sleeping a certain way, it helps minimize the mystery and makes sense out of frequent infant waking. We may even be able to optimize naps and nighttime sleep, decreasing fatigue over time.

1. Infant sleep cycles are about 45-60 minutes.

Infant sleep cycles are short compared to adults. With short sleep cycles, babies tend to wake up often. This means that if your baby wakes up 45-60 minutes into a nap, they are likely waking up mid-nap. So unless it’s the last nap of the day, which may be a cat nap, your baby likely wasn’t actually done napping. If a baby wakes mid-nap, you can try to lull your baby back to sleep to allow her to finish her nap.

2. Babies spend about 50% of their sleep in active Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.

Babies begin sleep in active sleep and spend equal amounts of time in active and quiet sleep. This means 50% of baby sleep is relatively light and often filled with dreams. Light sleep may contribute to your baby waking often. If your baby is struggling to stay asleep during light sleep, you may consider being extra quiet during sleep cycle transitions (45-60 minutes from start of sleep), swaddling, or using white noise.

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