across 97 countries
The State of
Parent & Baby Sleep
March 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.
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 69% of babies wake 3 or more times a night. That’s higher than any other age.
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.
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
Over half of 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
14% 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
22% 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.”
If this data feels familiar, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Every baby is different — and so is the solution.
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Data available for 33 countries, 155 regions, and 124 cities.