across 107 countries
The State of
Parent & Baby Sleep
April 2026
The largest survey of its kind reveals what’s really happening behind closed nursery doors — and it’s not what the highlight reels show.
Report By
Co-Founder & Chief Parenting Officer
Former Chief Technologist, Good Housekeeping
Medically Reviewed By
Meidad Greenberg, M.D.
Board-Certified Pediatrician
4 in 5 parents in our survey are running on less than six hours of sleep a night. This isn’t a phase.
For most families, it’s the baseline.
The 7–9 Month Peak
Nobody Warns You About
Everyone talks about the 4-month regression. But our data shows the real peak in night waking happens at 7–9 months, when 68% of babies wake 3 or more times a night. That’s higher than any other age.
The Naps Reality Check
Nap patterns shift dramatically as babies grow. Here’s what the data shows at each age.
Half of babies under 7 months take short naps (under 60 min). After 7 months, longer consolidated naps become the norm — but only if sleep pressure and rhythm are in sync.
How Are Parents Really Feeling?
Less than 1% of parents in our survey described themselves as “energized.” The vast majority — 82% — are running on empty.
Not All Parents Are in the Same Boat
Same overall exhaustion, two very different lived experiences. Where the divergence is biggest:
Single parents feel depleted at a 9-point higher rate
Based on 4,059 single parents vs 47,122 partnered parents.
A surprise: working full-time parents’ babies wake less
Likely not an effect of work itself, but a proxy. Babies of working parents skew older on average (past the 4–7mo peak-waking phase), and those families often have structured daycare schedules that reinforce a consolidated night.
What Parents Told Us
In Their Own Words
Beyond the multiple-choice answers, one in three parents wrote additional context about their situation. Here’s what emerged.
The Co-Sleeping Reality: Survival, Not Strategy
2 in 5 parents who shared additional context mentioned co-sleeping – and the overwhelming pattern wasn’t planned co-sleeping. It was desperation.
Parents described falling into bed-sharing after months of failed attempts to get their baby to sleep independently.
“We end up co-sleeping after the first 2–3 night wakings. I never planned this.”
“Co-sleeping but wish we weren’t. Waking 7–12 times a night. Comfort feeding.”
“We co-sleep out of desperation. I never get a sleep.”
“She starts in her room then walks into ours at 2am. When I’m too tired, we just co-sleep.”
The Reflux Surprise
15% of parents mentioned reflux in their written responses — making it the third most common theme after co-sleeping and contact naps. But here’s what surprised us: babies with reflux don’t actually wake more than other babies.
This challenges the common assumption that reflux is the root cause of night waking. While reflux is real and uncomfortable, the data suggests that frequent waking is near-universal across this age group — reflux or not. Parents of reflux babies may be attributing normal developmental waking to their child’s reflux.
The Contact Nap Cycle
25% of parents who wrote in mentioned contact napping — holding their baby for the entire duration of every nap. It’s often described alongside co-sleeping as part of a broader pattern of around-the-clock physical dependency.
“Contact naps only. Currently cosleeping a lot.”
“Naps the best when contact napping. Won’t go down in her crib.”
“She loves contact naps and falling asleep on me. I can’t put her down without her waking instantly.”
“Mix of contact naps, pram naps, cot naps during the day. Our toddler is also in my care so sometimes naps are impacted.”
Parents Who Found Their Way Through
Real Betteroo parents who recognized themselves in the data above — and made changes that stuck.
“I was co-sleeping, feeding to sleep, and waking 5–10 times a night. Within weeks, my baby slept 5.5 hours without a feed.”
— Alex
“Naps went from averaging 59 minutes to over 90. Night wake-ups dropped from 5 out of 8 nights to just 1.”
— Lauren
“Three weeks in, night wake-ups dropped from 7+ to 2–3 — and one night, zero. Naps nearly doubled.”
— Aateqah
“We slept through the night 3 days in a row. My daughter went from needing me for every bedtime to letting Dad do it.”
— Megan
If this data feels familiar, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Every baby is different — and so is the solution.
Get a personalized sleep plan for you and your baby
Take the 3-Min Quiz →How Does Your Area Compare?
Search for your country, state, or city — or click a country on the map — to see how local parents compare to the global average.
Data available for 47 countries, 217 regions, and 196 cities.
All Statistics at a Glance
Sample: 52,642 parents of children aged 0–6 years, surveyed July 2025 – April 2026 across 107 countries (US 20,884; UK 11,221; Australia 7,951; Canada 3,286; New Zealand 758; Germany 695; Italy 573; Netherlands 525; Spain 466; Singapore 455).
Parent sleep & wellbeing: 79% sleep less than 6 hours per night. 82% feel exhausted or drained. 72% report low energy “often”, 64% feel depleted “often”, 62% overwhelmed “often”, 56% use phone as escape “often”, 56% stressed/anxious “often”, 53% guilty “often”. 68% report “often” on 3 or more of these six wellbeing scales.
Baby night waking by age (% who wake 3+ times per night): 0–3 months 49.3% (n=5,398); 4–6 months 66.0% (n=9,619); 7–9 months 68.1% (n=7,161, the peak); 10–12 months 60.3% (n=3,860); 13–18 months 53.2% (n=2,795); 19–24 months 40.7% (n=900); 2–6 years 30.9% (n=760).
Bedtime distribution: 7:00–7:59pm 39.0%; 8:00–8:59pm 23.1%; after 9pm 16.7%; 6:00–6:59pm 13.2%; varies 6.9%; before 6pm 1.2%. Among 0–3 month olds, 30% have bedtimes after 9pm.
Time to fall asleep: 30–59 min 25.0%; 10–19 min 20.9%; 20–29 min 17.8%; not sure 13.8%; over 60 min 12.4%; less than 10 min 10.2%.
Naps by age: 36% of 0–3 month olds take 4+ naps. 55% of 4–6 month olds settle into 3 naps. 65% of 7–11 month olds are on 2 naps. 65% of 12–23 month olds are on 1 nap. 63% of 2y+ still nap once; 24% have dropped naps entirely.
Sleep goals (multi-select): Reduce night wakeups 86%; end bedtime battles 41%; predictable routine 40%; improve naps 39%; stop early waking 29%.
How babies fall asleep (multi-select): Feeding 63%; rocking 60%; sitting nearby 42%; singing 33%; it depends 19%; falls asleep alone 10%.
How parents feel (single-select): Exhausted 47.2%; drained 34.7%; okay 17.4%; energized 0.7%.
Life areas affected by sleep deprivation (multi-select): Mood & patience 75%; self-care 70%; partner/family 69%; physical health 48%; enjoyment of life 33%; work focus 27%; friendships & social life 21%.
Day-to-day behaviors (multi-select): Feeling distant from partner 71%; struggling with daily tasks 66%; skipping things they enjoy 56%; eating cold meals 40%; cancelling plans 31%.
Free-text themes (from 18,587 written responses, 35% of all completers): Co-sleeping mentioned by 40%; contact napping by 25%; reflux by 15%. 70% of co-sleepers are exhausted or drained AND sleep less than 6 hours. 12% of those who wrote in mention both co-sleeping and contact naps. Babies with vs without reflux wake 3+ times at 57% vs 58% (no meaningful difference, challenging the assumption that reflux is the main driver of night waking).
Segment differences: Single parents feel depleted “often” at 73% vs 64% for partnered parents (n=4,059 vs 47,122). Working full-time parents’ babies wake 3+ times less often than home full-time parents (49% vs 63%, n=8,394 vs 31,574) — likely because their babies skew older and have more structured daycare routines.
Geographic coverage: 47 countries with sample of 30+ responses. 217 regions and 196 cities meet the same threshold. Top cities by sample: Sydney (2,854); London (1,906); Melbourne (1,667); Brisbane (1,186); New York (909); Perth (857); Chicago (780); Dallas (653); Adelaide (579); Toronto (554).
All percentages cite Betteroo State of Parent & Baby Sleep 2026 (n=52,642). Citations: please link to https://betteroo.ai/state-of-baby-sleep/