Newborn Baby Sleep: Day & Night Confusion
Why is my newborn up all night? When will this phase end? How can I help my newborn adapt to a more typical sleep schedule?
I’ve been there, googling these questions in the middle of the night while my newborn is either frantically screaming or happily awake for hours at 3am. It’s exhausting and isolating. Babies are notorious for their unpredictable sleep schedules and their tendency to wake up frequently during the night. As a mom of 2, I can confirm that the only predictable part of newborn baby sleep is how unpredictable it can be! It’s an extremely challenging phase and newborn baby sleep and the accompanying parental sleep deprivation are things that many new parents struggle with. One of the biggest challenges that parents face early on in their baby’s life is dealing with day-night confusion in their newborn baby. My hope for this blog is to help shed some light on the topic and normalize this challenging phase of newborn sleep.
What you’ll learn in this blog:
- What is day and night confusion for a newborn baby
- Understanding the circadian rhythm and newborn baby sleep systems
- How to survive (and maybe thrive!) to get through this phase
What is day and night confusion?
Your newborn baby’s sleep cycles are immature up until about 10-12 weeks old, when they transition to a more mature sleep cycle. When a newborn baby has their days and nights confused, essentially, they are super sleepy during the day and more awake at night. Their bodies are in reverse. Some people report day and night confusion peaking around 2-3 weeks old when they “wake” to the world and really leave that sleepy fresh newborn phase. By 6 weeks, your infant may be more awake during the daytime than at night and by 12 weeks of age, daytime sleep duration decreases further and detectable levels of melatonin production from the infant can occur.
Your newborn baby’s sleep is inconsistent and fragmented, and while this doesn’t last forever, it is physically and emotionally draining. As a result of sleep being a biological behaviour, something we automatically do to survive as mammals, newborns don’t need to be taught how to sleep, but they sometimes do need support with knowing when to sleep.
Circadian Rhythm and Newborn Sleep
Circadian Rhythm
Our circadian rhythm, or internal clock, works off a 24-hour cycle of change, which helps our body know what to do based on light and darkness, some may call this the sleep-wake cycle. In-utero, newborn’s circadian rhythms begin to slowly develop by direct influence from the maternal circadian rhythm and passing of melatonin through the placenta from mama to baby. Already, you’re your child’s greatest teacher!
The hypothalamus, or the sleep center of our brain, is the area of our brain structure that controls wakefulness and sleepiness. In this area, the cells switch on and switch off, as needed. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is located within the hypothalamus and helps to coordinate our body’s internal clock to the external environment and regulates the timing of hormone production, body temperature, and other bodily functions. In-utero, a baby is getting direct input from maternal factors and therefore, once born, loses this direct input and must develop their own master clock from their brain.
Newborn Sleep
Once your baby is born, their independent circadian rhythm is weak and still connected to mom’s patterns. Over time, your baby’s rhythm will mature, and they will begin to produce their own hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, and they will be able to regulate their own body temperature, etc. all of which contribute to sleep! However, this maturing process takes time and over the course of days and weeks, parents begin to feel exhausted and wondering when the light at the end of the tunnel will appear.
Generally, here are some rough timelines to help guide your newborn sleep journey:
- Around 8 weeks of age, a rhythm of cortisol will establish.
- Around 9 weeks of age, melatonin and sleep efficiency will begin to develop.
- Around 11 weeks of age, body temperature rhythm and circadian genes will begin to develop.
During the newborn phase, sleep is inconsistent and unpredictable. Some naps may be smooth to initiate, and others may be a wild ride. Some naps may be short, and some naps may be long. It’s a difficult phase and one that can leave you feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and tired! You’re not alone in those feelings and many newborn parents reflect back on what a rollercoaster the sleep journey is when they bring their newborn baby home. “How did we ever survive that?!” will be a frequently asked question as your family distances themselves from the newborn phase for the last time.
How to survive (and thrive!) through the newborn phase
If you’re struggling with your newborn’s sleep right now, first off, I want you to take a deep breath and know they are trying their best and so are you!! Unfortunately, we can’t press a fast forward button through those long nights with frequent wake-ups, but we can gently help them shape their day/night sleep schedules as soon as they’re home.
- Once your babe has woken for the day, get them into light exposure. This may look like taking a walk outside, sitting on the porch, standing by a bright window, lights on in their room, etc. This will help cue their body that it’s daytime and with time, help shape their sleep-wake cycle.
- When it’s time to begin winding down for the night, dim the lights in your home/baby’s sleep space, to help encourage their body to recognize it’s now evening and melatonin production should be initiated.
- In the early afternoon, get another quality dose of light to continue to encourage daytime wakefulness.
- Consider establishing a regular bedtime routine to help cue your baby that sleep is coming and help them differentiate daytime sleep from nighttime sleep.
- During night feeds, keep lights dim (e.g. Hatch light works really well here!).
- During the day, it’s OK to have noise in the house! Again, differentiating between nighttime silence and a noisy daytime to help support their body learning between the two.
- Gently wake baby after 2-3 hours of daytime sleep to support the opportunity for daytime caloric intake and ensure they have opportunities for fresh air and light exposure to help shape their sleep-wake cycle.
- Be patient and lean on your support system. Establishing a healthy sleep routine takes time and we can gently support babies establishing their day/night sleep, but we also need to be patient to allow their bodies to stabilize their own hormones and bodily systems. With strategies, patience, and consistency, you and your babe will overcome the day/night confusion.
If you’re struggling through the newborn sleep phase, know this phase isn’t forever. Your baby’s sleep is evolving every day and will stabilize with time. If you’re looking for additional support (like a video call with a mama who gets it!) strategies to support newborn sleep, tips on awake time and tips on how to further thrive through the newborn phase, book a discovery call to talk through all the topics my newborn baby sleep plan offers and get your sleep journey rolling.
Wishing you sweet dreams,
Chelsea
References:
Yates J. (2018) PERSPECTIVE: The Long-Term Effects of Light Exposure on Establishment of Newborn Circadian Rhythm. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 14(10):1829-1830.
Brooks E, Canal MM. Development of circadian rhythms: role of postnatal light environment. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 May;37(4):551-60. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.02.012. Epub 2013 Feb 27. PMID: 23454636.
Rivkees SA. The Development of Circadian Rhythms: From Animals To Humans. Sleep Med Clin. 2007 Sep 1;2(3):331-341. doi: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2007.05.010. PMID: 19623268; PMCID: PMC2713064.