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A newborn baby alternates between sleeping and waking spending much of their time asleep each day. They do not usually have a sense of the 24 hour clock, so will wake as easily at night as in the day.

Newborn babies also have very short sleep cycles, around 50 to 60 minutes. As adults, our circadian sleep/wake cycle is influenced by an exposure to light each day and the daily variation in the secretion of the hormones melatonin and cortisol. Babies start to develop circadian rhythms from birth and usually by around 6 to 8 weeks old they sleep more at night than in the day. In some babies, a longer night-time sleep can take a number of months to develop though!