Night waking after six months - when they can sleep longer but still don't

Last reviewed: July 2026 | Sources: NHS, BASIS (Durham University)

Your baby is six months old, eating solid food, and theoretically capable of sleeping longer stretches. Yet here you are, still waking multiple times a night. The evidence is considerably more nuanced than "they should be sleeping through by now."

What's normal

Research from Durham University's BASIS project shows that waking at night remains normal throughout the first year and into the second. Only around fifty per cent of one-year-olds regularly sleep through. Whether a baby sleeps through is influenced by temperament, feeding method, and developmental stage - not parenting quality.

Common causes at this age

Sleep regressions around 8-10 months coincide with separation anxiety and new mobility. Teething disrupts sleep, particularly molars. Illness - ear infections, colds - will predictably fragment sleep. And overtiredness, counterintuitively, makes night waking worse because an overtired baby produces more cortisol.

What matters most

If feeding your baby back to sleep works for everyone and nobody is distressed, there's no medical reason to stop. If the waking is affecting your mental health, that's a legitimate reason to make changes. Your health visitor can help develop a plan suited to your baby's temperament.

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Sources

NHS - Helping your baby to sleep ยท BASIS - Durham University