20/11/2025
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๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐-๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐?โฃ ๐ตโ๐ซ
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A split-night is when a baby or toddler wakes for a long stretch in the middle of the night and experiences their sleep in two chunks. This often becomes more noticeable as sleep cycles shift into lighter, dreamier phases.โฃ
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๐ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐-๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ:โฃ
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Sleep 7pmโ1am โ awake until 2.30/3am โ asleep again until morning. Sometimes it happens earlier (around 11pmโ1am), but anything before that is less common.โฃ
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Soโฆ why does it happen?โฃ
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๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝโฃ
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If daytime sleep outweighs what your child actually needs, the body simply hits its โsleep quotaโ early. Humans can only tolerate so much sleep in 24 hours before the brain says, โOkay, thatโs enough โ time to wake up.โ In other words, reduce daytime sleep to increase nighttime incentive.โฃ
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๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณโฃ
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Your child might technically be getting the right total sleep for their age, but the timing matters. For example, a 12-month-old needing approx 2-2.5hrs daytime sleep might take naps at 10โ10.30am and 2.30โ4.15pm (getting age-appropriate sleep total sleep) but the long nap past 3pm can rob them of the drive they need for solid night-time sleep. Nap placement matters just as much as amount of sleep.โฃ
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๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐โฃ
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When babies learn new skills, sleep can get a bit wobbly. If theyโre awake in the night, happy, babbling, even practising their new move โ settling wonโt be effective until theyโre ready to go back. Keeping them calmly in the cot and waiting for that tiredness to return often works better than fighting to resettle too soon.โฃ
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๐ ๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฝ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑโฃ
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If your child is SUDDENLY awake for long stretches overnight, it can be a sign that the morning nap, late afternoon nap, or even a longer second nap needs adjusting. Too much daytime sleep = not enough sleep pressure at night.โฃ
