4 Common Baby Sleep Myths Debunked
- Written by Eva Beke, Founding Sleep Consultant at Sleepy Little Bubs
Baby sleep advice is everywhere.
One person tells you to keep your baby awake longer so they will be more tired at bedtime. Someone else insists that every baby should sleep through the night by six months. Then you hear that “sleep begets sleep” and that the more your baby sleeps during the day, the better they will sleep overnight.
The problem is that baby sleep is rarely that simple.
Sleep needs can vary considerably between babies of the same age. Temperament, development, feeding, health, sleep environment and a baby’s individual sleep requirements can all affect how they sleep.
Some commonly repeated advice contains a small amount of truth, but it can become misleading when it is treated as a rule that should apply to every baby.
Here are four of the most common baby sleep myths - and what parents actually need to know.
Myth 1: Keeping Your Baby Awake Longer Will Make Them Sleep Better
It sounds logical: the longer your baby stays awake, the more tired they will become and the better they should sleep.
Unfortunately, baby sleep does not always work that way.
There is a difference between building enough sleep pressure for sleep and keeping a baby awake beyond what they can comfortably manage.
Sleep pressure gradually builds while your baby is awake. Having enough sleep pressure can help your baby fall asleep and remain asleep. However, pushing awake time too far can leave some babies overtired, unsettled and much harder to get to sleep.
An overtired baby may:
Become increasingly upset before naps or bedtime
Cry or resist being settled
Wake shortly after going to sleep
Experience more frequent night waking
Wake unusually early in the morning
Take a short nap despite appearing exhausted
This does not mean every difficult bedtime is caused by overtiredness. A baby who has not had enough awake time might also resist sleep because they simply are not tired enough yet.
The goal is not to keep your baby awake for as long as possible. It is to find a balance between adequate awake time and enough opportunity for sleep.
Rather than relying only on a generic wake-window chart, look at your baby’s whole day. Consider how long they have been awake, how well they slept previously, their mood, their age and what usually happens when they are placed down to sleep.
What should parents do instead?
Use age-based awake times as a general starting point rather than an exact rule.
If your baby consistently takes a long time to fall asleep, happily plays in the cot or has long periods awake overnight, they might need slightly more awake time.
If they become extremely upset, fall asleep almost immediately and then wake shortly afterwards, their awake period might be too long.
A baby’s sleep needs can also change during nap transitions, developmental periods, illness, teething or particularly stimulating days.
Myth 2: Babies Should Sleep Through the Night by 6 Months
Six months is often spoken about as though it is a deadline for sleeping through the night.
It is not.
Some babies begin sleeping for longer stretches by six months, while others continue waking for feeds, comfort, reassurance or assistance returning to sleep.
Even the meaning of “sleeping through the night” can be confusing. In baby sleep research and health information, it does not always mean sleeping for 11 or 12 uninterrupted hours. It can refer to a much shorter stretch, such as approximately 6 hours.
Raising Children Network notes that babies might be having longer stretches of around 6 hours at night by 6 months — not that every 6-month-old should be sleeping all night without waking.
Babies naturally move through sleep cycles overnight and briefly wake between them, just as adults do. The difference is that some babies return to sleep without signalling, while others cry, feed or need support.
Night waking at 6 months can be influenced by:
Hunger and milk intake
Growth or development
Illness or discomfort
Temperament
Daytime sleep
Separation awareness
The sleep environment
A baby’s individual sleep needs
Some 6-month-old babies may no longer need frequent feeds overnight, while others - particularly breastfed babies - may continue to feed during the night to 12 months abd beyond.
Decisions about reducing night feeds should consider the baby’s age, growth, health, milk intake and advice from an appropriate health professional. Parents should not feel pressured to remove feeds simply because their baby has reached a particular age.
Is it normal for a 6-month-old to wake overnight?
Yes. Night waking can still be completely normal at 6 months and beyond.
However, normal does not mean parents simply have to struggle through severe sleep deprivation without support.
If your baby is waking very frequently, struggling to resettle or experiencing a sudden and persistent change in sleep, it can help to look at the full picture rather than focusing only on their age.
Myth 3: Sleep Begets Sleep
“Sleep begets sleep” is one of the most common phrases in the baby sleep world.
The general idea is that a well-rested baby will sleep better than an overtired baby. There can be truth in this. Babies need adequate sleep, and being significantly overtired can make settling and staying asleep more difficult.
But the phrase is often interpreted to mean that the more a baby sleeps during the day, the better they will sleep at night.
That is not always true.
Babies have an individual amount of sleep they need across a 24-hour period. If a baby has significantly more daytime sleep than they require, there may be less sleep pressure available for the night.
Depending on the baby, this could contribute to:
Bedtime resistance
Taking a long time to fall asleep
Frequent night waking
Long periods awake during the night
Early morning waking
A shorter night overall
This does not mean parents should begin cutting naps simply because their baby wakes overnight.
Too little daytime sleep can also cause problems. A baby who is exhausted by bedtime may become unsettled, experience false starts or wake more frequently.
The more accurate message is:
Appropriate sleep can support better sleep, but more sleep is not always better.
Your baby needs enough daytime sleep to remain well rested while still building sufficient sleep pressure for bedtime.
How much daytime sleep should a baby have?
There is no single nap total that will suit every baby.
Two babies of the same age may have different sleep needs. One may sleep for several hours during the day and still manage a long night. Another may need shorter or more carefully timed naps to sleep well overnight.
Instead of focusing on whether your baby is reaching an exact daytime sleep target, consider:
Their total sleep across 24 hours
How easily they fall asleep at bedtime
Whether they have long awake periods overnight
Their usual morning wake time
Their mood and energy throughout the day
Whether their naps are helping or interfering with nighttime sleep
The aim is not to maximise sleep at every opportunity. It is to find the amount and timing of sleep that works for your individual baby.
Myth 4: A Later Bedtime Will Make Your Baby Sleep Later
When a baby regularly wakes at 5.00 am, moving bedtime later can feel like the obvious solution.
For some babies, a later bedtime may help - particularly when their current bedtime is too early for their individual sleep needs.
But putting a baby to bed later does not automatically lead to a later morning.
A baby’s morning wake time is influenced by more than the number of hours since bedtime. Their circadian rhythm, daytime sleep, sleep pressure, light exposure, feeding and environment can all play a role.
If bedtime is pushed later without adjusting anything else, the baby might continue waking at the same time and simply have a shorter night.
For babies who become overtired easily, a significantly later bedtime may even lead to more unsettled sleep or an earlier start to the day.
