![]() ![]() ![]() Parents will commonly identify these phases as sleep regressions.Īs well as this, a 4-5 month old baby often has FOMO (fear of missing out)! They are distractible, stimulated by their environment, eager to interact and learn, and find new experiences, places and people exciting. For this reason, it seems that many babies suddenly struggle to ‘switch off’ and go to sleep. It’s a type of non-REM sleep, and may well feel quite unfamiliar to your baby. As their sleep cycle matures, they transition from awake to asleep via a completely new state of sleep that they have not experienced before – light sleep. Their sleep cycle is also quite short, and they simply alternate between REM sleep and deep sleep. The brain activity during REM sleep is very similar to the activity during wakefulness, and babies often fall asleep easily – whether in arms, during a feed, or a little bit of movement. They are also probably experiencing some adaptations to their sleep cycle, which can have some very specific effects on their sleep behaviour.Īs a newborn, your baby transitioned from awake to asleep via REM (dreaming) sleep. They will probably be learning to roll (usually from back to front first – and they may get stuck). You will probably notice more vocalisation (cooing, laughing, trying to have deliberate ‘conversations’ with you). The most common time parents notice sleep taking a hit is around 4-5 months, and again at around 8 months.īabies at this age are learning a huge amount! They seem to be developing at full speed across many different areas. There are of course, some well-known times when it all tends to go belly-up – see my earlier blog on developmental milestones for a re-cap if you want to refresh your memory. It is simply less of a priority than the other things your baby is learning about or processing at the time.Ī sleep ‘regression’ can occur at any time of developmental change. It’s just that sleep has temporarily gone on the back burner. But I assure you, they have not lost skills. It can feel very frustrating and demoralising to have your baby suddenly appear to ‘regress’ in their sleep. Often, it’s a combination of many of these things. What parents usually notice is that their baby’s sleep suddenly changes. That means that this is pop-science, not actual science. I don’t really like this term, and in fact, there is no scientific evidence to back up sleep regressions! There is plenty of evidence about development, and also about how a baby’s sleep cycle changes and evolves, but there is no mention in scientific literature about sleep regressions. It’s almost as if their baby is so busy learning about how to roll over, or how to grab an object, crawl, stand or whatever it is, that sleep goes on the ‘back burner’. Parents will often get in touch about sleep during a phase of acute developmental change. But it means that during a phase of increased learning, if you overload that little person with too many things to think about, they can get overwhelmed. This might sound trivial, but every single little experience, interaction and learning event will happen due to brain activity. They panic less, and tolerate the task, partly because they know what is coming next. This is why a baby initially might cry on the changing mat during a nappy change, but after several weeks of their parent reassuring them, and doing the same things in the same order, they begin to calm down. Unconnected brain cells begin to form connections, which help a baby to link events, people, meanings and learning experiences. It begins to ‘wire’ itself under the influences of social interaction, experiences, and to some extent, with maturity. How might brain development cause a sleep ‘regression’Īn infant’s brain is highly under-developed at birth. The brain has to ‘file’ new learning, as well as ‘attach’ some older learning to the newly acquired skills or thoughts. When children are learning, their brain is processing a lot of new information. However, there are some broad ranges where major developmental milestones tend to occur – click here to learn more. They can be a bit variable, which is why not every baby sits up at the same age, or learns to clap hands. These developmental milestones occur at certain times during your child’s life. If you’ve read my earlier blog about development, you’ll know that children are constantly changing, growing, adapting and learning. But are they real? In this article, I’ll try to explain what is going on, and debunk a few myths.ĭevelopmental milestones and how they affect sleep The dreaded sleep regression! If you have a baby, have ever met another parent, or work with children, you have most likely heard about sleep regressions.
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