Establishing Healthy Daytime Sleep Habits For Newborns

Newborns sleep a lot—anywhere from 10 to 19 hours a day—but they don't yet have a sense of day and night, so they sleep around the clock. They wake up every few hours to feed, and it can be hard for new parents to know how long and how often their newborn should sleep. In this article, we'll discuss how to establish a healthy sleep schedule for your newborn during the day, and offer tips on creating a bedtime routine.

Newborns sleep around 10-19 hours a day

Newborns sleep a lot—anywhere from 10 to 19 hours a day. They don't have an internal "clock" yet, so they sleep around the clock, waking every few hours to feed. Newborns have tiny stomachs, so they need to feed often—every 2-4 hours.

Because they don't know the difference between day and night, newborns often have their days and nights confused. They might think they're supposed to be awake at night and sleep during the day. Generally, newborns sleep about 8 to 9 hours during the day and about 8 hours at night.

Newborn sleep is typically fragmented, with short sleep cycles of 20 to 50 minutes. During active sleep, newborns may move, groan, open their eyes, cry out, or breathe noisily or irregularly. During quiet sleep, they will lie relatively still and their breathing will be more even.

It's important to create positive sleep associations for your newborn. Some settling techniques may be challenging to maintain long-term, such as holding your baby until they fall asleep. These can create a negative sleep association, resulting in them needing to be held to fall asleep.

• Put them in their cot when they are tired but still awake.
• Recognise and respond to tired signs.
• Use a gentle, positive, and consistent routine, such as feed, play, sleep.
• Use different techniques to settle your baby.
• Expose them to light and gently play with them during the day.
• Provide a dim and quiet environment at night.

They wake up every few hours to feed

Newborns have yet to develop a sense of day and night, so they sleep and wake for feedings around the clock. They have tiny stomachs that can only hold small amounts of breast milk or formula, so they need to feed every few hours—whether it's day or night.

Breastfed babies tend to feed more frequently—every 2 to 3 hours—while bottle-fed babies feed less often, with intervals of 3 to 4 hours. In the first week, a newborn may want to feed very frequently, perhaps even every hour. They will gradually settle into a more predictable pattern, with fewer but longer feeds.

It's important to ensure your newborn is getting full feedings. If they are only snacking throughout the day, they may sleep less and experience more crying at night. Full feedings lead to a content baby who is able to stay awake and alert during the day, which is necessary for healthy growth and development.

To ensure your baby is getting full feedings, look for hunger cues such as sucking their fist or fingers, making murmuring sounds, or turning their head and opening their mouth. Feed your baby whenever they are hungry, and don't worry about feeding them too much—it's not possible to overfeed a breastfed baby.

If your baby is having trouble staying awake during feedings, try some of the following techniques:

• Get skin-to-skin contact with your baby. This encourages sucking and helps keep them awake.
• Lay them down on the floor away from your body to wake them up a bit.
• Rub a damp cloth on their face and chest.
• Change their diaper before and during feedings.
• Ensure your baby has a proper latch.
• If you're breastfeeding, try breast compressions by gently massaging your breast towards your baby's mouth to encourage sucking and swallowing.

They don't have a sense of day and night yet

Newborns don't have a sense of day and night yet. They sleep around the clock, waking every few hours to feed—regardless of whether it's day or night. Their tiny stomachs can't hold enough breast milk or formula to keep them full for long.

Newborns should get 14–17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Some newborns may sleep up to 18–19 hours a day. Newborns who sleep for longer stretches should be awakened to feed every 3–4 hours until they show good weight gain, which usually happens within the first couple of weeks. After that, it's okay to let them sleep for longer periods at night.

It may take a few weeks for a newborn's brain to differentiate between night and day. There are no tricks to speed this process up, but keeping things quiet and calm during nighttime feeds and nappy changes can help. Keep the lights low and resist the urge to play or talk to your baby. This will send the message that nighttime is for sleeping. If possible, let your baby fall asleep in their crib at night so they learn that it's the place for sleep.

Don't try to keep your baby awake during the day in the hopes that they'll sleep better at night. Overly tired infants often have more trouble sleeping than those who've had enough sleep during the day.

They should be exposed to light and noise during the day

Newborns sleep a lot—around 14 to 18 hours a day—but only in short periods of 2 to 4 hours. They don't yet have a sense of day and night, so they sleep around the clock and wake often to eat.

To help newborns establish a healthy sleep pattern, it's important to teach them the difference between night and day. During the day, they should be exposed to light and noise, and you should try to keep them awake and active after they feed. This will help them understand that daytime is when you have fun, and nighttime is for sleep.

• Keep blinds or curtains open during the day to let in natural light.
• Play soft music in the background or use white noise or rain sounds to create a low-level noise environment.
• Keep noise levels consistent to help your baby stay asleep. Sudden noises or changes in background noise may wake them up.
• If your baby is napping during the day, dim the lights instead of closing the curtains or blinds to block out all light.

Remember, every baby is different, and it may take a few weeks for your newborn's brain to distinguish between night and day. Be patient, consistent, and attentive to your baby's unique needs and preferences.

Keep the room dark and quiet at night

Keeping the room dark and quiet at night is essential for newborns to get quality sleep. Here are some tips to achieve this:

Darkness

During the night, it is beneficial to keep the room as dark as possible. Darkness helps signal to your newborn's body that it is time to sleep and encourages the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep. Without melatonin, your baby will have difficulty falling and staying asleep.

To create a dark environment:

• Use room-darkening or blackout curtains to block out any outside light.
• Use light blockers underneath doors to prevent light from creeping in.
• Cover any rogue lights from electronics, smart light switches, or devices like humidifiers with black electrical tape.
• If you need to feed or change your baby during the night, use a dim night light, preferably red light, as it is the least stimulating.

Quiet Environment

Keeping the room quiet is also important to promote uninterrupted sleep.

To minimize noise:

• Avoid playing with or talking to your baby during nighttime feedings and diaper changes. Keep things quiet and calm.
• Use a white noise machine to block out external noise and promote restful sleep.

By creating a dark and quiet environment, you will help your newborn develop a healthy sleep pattern and get the restorative sleep they need for their growth and development.

Frequently asked questions