12 month sleep regression

Around the first birthday some babies start fighting naps or waking at night again. Here is what is known about why and what you can do.

Is there a 12 month sleep regression?

Sleep regression is a popular name for a stretch of worse sleep in a baby who was sleeping better before. It is not an event that research has pinned to the calendar: Cleveland Clinic notes that research has not shown regressions happening like clockwork at a specific age for every baby.

The Sleep Foundation lists 12 months among the ages when a regression is not uncommon. No medical source describes it as a separate, predictable event.

What often unsettles sleep at 12 months

• Separation anxiety, which is common in the second half of the first year (Nemours).
• New skills. Pulling up to stand and learning to walk can disrupt sleep for a while.
• Naps. At 12 months either one or two naps is normal (Nationwide Children's Hospital). A baby who refuses a nap for a few days has not necessarily finished with it: most toddlers do not move to one nap until around 18 months.

How long does the 12 month sleep regression last?

Cleveland Clinic says regressions typically last a week or two. The Sleep Foundation says that in most cases the trouble lasts a few days to a few weeks. Nobody can give you a date, and it is different for every child.

What to do

• Rule out other causes first. Illness, hunger and teething can look the same.
• Keep the same bedtime routine every night, in the same order. In a study of 405 children of 7 to 36 months, a consistent routine improved how fast they fell asleep and how often they woke.
• Put your baby down drowsy but awake, so the way they fall asleep at bedtime is the way they can fall back asleep at night.
• Give your baby a few minutes before you go in. Babies often fuss and settle again by themselves.
• Keep wake-up time, naps and bedtime at about the same times every day. About 3 to 6 hours awake at a stretch is the rule of thumb at this age.
• If your baby pulls up to stand in the crib, practice getting down again during the day.
• Ask your pediatrician before you cut a night feed.

Can you sleep train a 12 month old?

Yes, if you want to. The same approaches are used with toddlers: staying in the room and moving away over two weeks, timed checks (the Ferber method), and saying goodnight and not going back in (cry it out). A toddler in a bed they can leave needs a version with check-ins.

A 2006 review for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 49 of 52 studies reported better sleep. Most of those studies were small, and no method works for every child.

When to call the pediatrician

Talk to your pediatrician if sleep does not get back on track, if something does not seem right to you, or if you notice snoring, trouble breathing, a fever, poor weight gain or feeds that are a struggle.

Related guides

• 12 month old sleep schedule
• Sleep regression ages
• The Ferber method and chart

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic. The 4-Month Sleep Regression: What Parents Need To Know. July 2022.
• Sleep Foundation. 4-Month Sleep Regression. Updated July 2025.
• Nemours KidsHealth. Sleep and Your Baby, by age; Naps.
• Nationwide Children's Hospital. Sleep in Infants; Sleep in Toddlers.
• Mindell JA, et al. Behavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children. Sleep, 2006 (review for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine).

General information for parents, not medical advice. Independent, not affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics or any medical body. Talk to your pediatrician about your baby's health.