Bringing home a new baby is magical, but adjusting to their unique sleep patterns can be challenging. While we might expect our babies to sleep soundly through the night, their internal clocks are set to a rhythm that’s been developing over thousands of years. Here’s a glimpse into the world of newborn sleep from birth to one month—and why it makes perfect sense when you look at it through the lens of evolution.
The First Days: Why Sleep Looks Different in Newborns.
From their first moments, babies sleep a lot—around 16 to 18 hours each day, but not all at once. They sleep in cycles of about two to three hours, day and night, with no real sense of time. This might seem unusual to us, but for a newborn, it’s simply how they’re wired. When babies drift off, they start with Active Sleep, which is a bit like our REM sleep, where the brain stays busy. This light sleep makes it easy for them to wake, ready to respond to any change in their surroundings—an instinct from ancient times, when safety depended on staying close to a caregiver.
The Comfort of Proximity: An Ancient Instinct.
For babies, proximity to a parent is essential. In ancient times, the warmth, heartbeat, and scent of a caregiver were vital for survival. Being close meant safety, nourishment, and comfort, all critical in an unpredictable world. Today, even though our lives have evolved, this instinct for closeness remains in our newborns. As they adjust to life outside the womb, the sense of security from a caregiver’s touch and warmth helps regulate their tiny bodies and minds, making them feel calm and protected.
Two Weeks In: A Subtle Shift
By the second week, babies’ sleep might show a slight shift toward nighttime, but they still wake often, needing comfort and feeding. They continue to spend more than half of their sleep in Active/REM, which fuels rapid brain growth. During these early weeks, some babies might begin to find a rhythm, while others stay unpredictable. Each baby is unique, and they’re all following their own natural, biological path.
One Month Old: Growing and Waking.
Around one month, sleep may start to consolidate, with some infants showing longer nighttime stretches. But as any parent knows, just when you sense a pattern, growth spurts can disrupt it! The first big growth spurt often occurs at about three weeks, leading to more waking and feeding. As they grow, babies gradually reduce their Active/REM sleep, leaning more toward restorative Quiet Sleep—but they’re not there yet, and frequent waking remains normal & needed for all this important growth and development they are doing.
The Reality of Modern Baby Sleep.
In our world, it’s easy to compare or wonder if something’s amiss when a baby doesn’t “sleep through the night.” But research tells us that frequent waking is part of healthy development. Even infants who appear to sleep more soundly often wake without showing it, adjusting themselves quietly.
It can be reassuring to remember that our babies’ sleep behaviours are tied to ancient survival needs, not to modern expectations. With each month, they will continue to grow and adjust, but their instincts are beautifully preserved from a time when close contact was the key to safety. Close contact still has some amazing benefits for long term health, and research shows that babies who are kept close to their caregivers often experience better regulation of stress, improved emotional security, and even enhanced cognitive development as they grow. Being physically near a parent can support steady heart rates, healthy sleep cycles, and overall well-being, all of which lay a strong foundation for later stages of life.
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