The 4 Month Sleep Regression
Firstly, there is no data or studies that have backed anything around set age regressions, however there has been some indication from research, that there are similar ‘sleep issues’ patterns around this 4-month mark. If you hear anyone stating that there are others around 6,7,8,9-month mark, then this just isn’t backed in anything but opinion. Please don’t start going into panic mode that each month will bring a new hellish time for sleep.
Jodi Mindell aka ‘the Queen of infant sleep’ carried out an informal analysis of all of her data collected from previous reports. Even she couldn’t find a pattern to back up these other so-called regressions. She and others however, can see a pattern with this bump in the road, around 4 months.
What happens?
Around 4 months, an infant’s sleep architecture changes and starts to look more like ours as adults. Their circadian rhythm matures; they produce their own melatonin and start to be far more alert during awake times than previously. The biggest shift is that their sleep cycles go from having 2 stages (active and deep) to 4. This is a huge shift and can be the root cause of this disturbance. It tends to last anything from 2 day to 2 weeks.
You may start to see more waking at night, shorter naps and generally harder to settle. What also happens around now is that they become tunned into having a subconscious check after a sleep cycle. So, if they were held to sleep previously and you could pop them down fine, you might now see battles with this. When they have a natural wake after a sleep cycle and do this ‘check’ and things don’t look the same as when they went to sleep, (for example in your arms) then they will spring up awake. Imagine if you went to sleep in your bed tonight but woke up in next-doors, how would you feel?
This development can change what was a ‘perfect sleeper’ previously to a really unsettled little baby. Now some babies aren’t too phased by this change, but for the most of us this can really throw things off.
What the hell can I do?
Prevention (prior to the regression) – What you can do is practice with their experience in their sleep space when awake. For example, just build on their familiarity around the cot through play or just chilling in there for short periods of time, however please follow safe sleep guidelines! This can really help for when the regression arrives. If this feels like a nightmare right now then that’s also fine, no pressure at all to do anything!
Another option is to just simply ride it out or you can work on more consistent cot settling and independent sleep. I would also establish a really consistent and familiar bedtime routine, there’s lots of evidence that this really helps. Also, always ensure that when they are going down for a sleep session, that they’re really sleepy.
Also, try and keep to a similar wake up time each morning, to set the circadian rhythm off. This will enable their bodies to start building their sleep pressure at the same time each day, which will set the tone for the remainder of the day.
Finally, please don’t worry too much. This can be rough but there is always a way out and once things settle down and if you need more help please reach out. I personally don’t sleep train before or during this regression as the new hormones all need to settle and once this is done, we can get started!
Love Alex
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