6 month sleep regression

Some babies start waking more at around 6 months. Research has not found a set regression at this age, but several things do change. Here is what they are and what you can do.

Is there a 6 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 6 months among the ages when a regression is not uncommon. No medical source describes it as a separate, predictable event.

What often changes at 6 months

• Night waking often returns at about 6 months, and Stanford Medicine Children's Health links it to separation anxiety, a normal stage of development.
• By 6 months most healthy babies can go through the night without a feed, yet 25% to 50% still wake (Nationwide Children's Hospital). A waking is not always hunger any more.
• Naps are changing. Babies of 4 to 12 months take 2 or 3 naps, and two naps are well established by 9 to 12 months.
• Waking is common. In a study of 388 babies, between 28% and 57% of 6 and 12 month olds did not yet sleep 6 or 8 hours in a row.

How long does the 6 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 2 to 4 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 6 month old?

Yes, if you want to. The published trials of sleep training enrolled babies of 6 months and older. The main approaches are 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 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

• 6 month old sleep schedule
• Sleep regression ages
• When to start sleep training
• 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.
• Stanford Medicine Children's Health. Infant Sleep.
• Nationwide Children's Hospital. Sleep in Infants; Sleep in Toddlers.
• Pennestri MH, et al. Pediatrics, 2018 (388 babies at 6 and 12 months).
• 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.