newborn sleeps need a lot of sleep – about 14 to 18 hours a day. It’s normal for newborns to sleep almost constantly in the early weeks, waking only long enough to eat and then fall back asleep. All that rest plays a critical role in their rapid growth and development. But if you’re worried your baby may be sleeping too much, talk to your pediatrician.
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Sleep can be one of the most baffling issues of new parenthood. As many of us learn through gritty nights and zombie-like days, babies simply don’t sleep like adults – especially as newborns. Here’s why.
How much sleep do newborns need?
In those early weeks, your baby may rack up sleep hours like a college student home on winter break. But here’s the catch: Most newborns don’t stay asleep for more than two to four hours at a time, day or night, during the first few months of life.
Newborns typically sleep 14 to 18 hours a day in the first weeks and 12 to 16 hours by the time they’re a month old. (Because every baby is an individual, some sleep a bit less or a bit more than average.)
Unfortunately, even if your newborn is a sleep glutton, you’ll likely be exhausted. Because their stomachs are so small, newborns typically wake up to eat every two to three hours. So while the total amount of time newborns sleep is a lot, it isn’t all in one stretch.
Plus, many babies also arrive in the world with their days and nights reversed. These little night owls sleep for longer stretches during the daytime, saving their more alert periods for nighttime.
Why your newborn sleeps so much
At first it may seem like all your baby does is sleep and eat, and for the first few weeks of your little one’s life that’s to be expected. But all that snoozing doesn’t just make for great cuddling; your baby’s brain is also working hard as they sleep.
Babies grow incredibly fast in their first year of life. By about a year old, your baby is likely to have tripled their birth weight. In the first year, your little one will learn to roll over, sit up, crawl, stand, eat solid food, learn social skills, and maybe even walk and say words. Sleep is an important part of that physical and mental development.
Sleep helps promote learning. Your baby is constantly taking in new information about their environment. Newborn sleep also plays a role in memory consolidation, sensory processing, and preparing babies to explore their environments in new ways.
In short, newborns sleep so much because they’re learning so much and growing so quickly. All that rest helps fuel the big changes they’re going through.
Can babies sleep too much?
It’s normal for newborns to sleep almost constantly, waking only long enough to eat before they start snoozing again. By about a month old, your baby may start spending more time awake, quietly taking in the world around them.
How long your baby can stay awake before they need to sleep again depends on many factors, including their temperament and the duration of their last nap. This is often referred to as their wake window, and it grows as they get older. Newborns can only stay awake for about an hour to an hour and a half before needing to nap again.
Some babies may be such intense sleepers that they don’t wake to eat as often as they need to. The Pediatrics recommends waking newborns to eat every two to three hours during the day and every four hours at night until they’ve regained their birth weight.
There may also be periods when you notice your baby sleeping more than usual. There are many reasons a baby may occasionally need more sleep, including:
- A minor illness, like a cold. Babies need rest to recover from illness just like adults do.
- Growth spurts. Babies go through several periods of rapid growth in their first year of life. These growth spurts require more rest to help fuel the body’s changes.
- Recent vaccination. Your baby may sleep more after getting shots as their body works on building immunity.
- Jaundice. Jaundice is common in newborns, particularly those born before 38 weeks. Newborns with jaundice tend to sleep more than newborns without jaundice. Mild jaundice often disappears on its own after two to three weeks.
Occasional periods of increased sleep are normal and usually not cause for concern. But if your newborn’s longer bouts of sleep are accompanied by a fever or signs of respiratory distress like fast breathing or grunting while breathing, call your pediatrician immediately. Also call the doctor if your baby doesn’t wake up regularly to eat. These could be signs of a more serious medical issue.
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