Common sleep problems
Troubleshooting for the specific thing going wrong tonight.
In this section
Getting the bedroom right
Light, screens, white noise, temperature and what to keep out.
Naps and dropping a nap
What is actually known about nap transitions, which is less than you are told.
Early rising
Why it happens and what genuinely helps.
Bedtime resistance
Stalling, curtain calls, and the bedtime pass.
Night terrors and nightmares
How to tell them apart, and what to do during each.
Separation anxiety
A normal stage, and how to make bedtime easier through it.
Night feeds and night weaning
Normal, necessary, and mostly a parental choice rather than a medical one.
Where this comes from
- Cerebra, Sleep Guide V4 (October 2025), for the environment consistency rule, caffeine and exercise timing, nap reduction by 5 minutes a week, the causes of early rising and the sleep restriction protocol.
- The Sleep Charity, bedtime routines and night terrors and nightmares, for light and dark, screens at the start of the routine, white noise, room temperature, decor, and never using the bedroom as a punishment.
- NHS, night terrors and nightmares, for the comparison between the two and scheduled awakening.
- Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, night terrors and sleepwalking, for not waking a child during a terror and for the physical safety measures.
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough children's health, sleepwalking, nightmares and night terrors, for 1 in 4 children having at least one nightmare a week.
- NHS, separation anxiety, for the 6 months to 3 years age range and the practical steps.
- The Lullaby Trust, keeping a clear cot and room temperature, for the clear cot rule and 16 to 20°C.
- East London NHS Foundation Trust, Sleep Basics, for rapid return and white noise use.
- Derbyshire Family Health Service, sleep, for the same-words-every-night tip and the point about screens not feeling like a punishment.
- NHS, helping your baby to sleep, for the silent return and shifting bedtime gradually.
- Carter et al. 2016, JAMA Pediatrics, meta-analysis of 17 studies and 125,198 children aged 6 to 18, for the screens findings.
- Hugh et al. 2014, Pediatrics, for the measured output of 14 infant sleep machines and the hearing safety conclusion.
- Thorpe et al. 2015, Archives of Disease in Childhood, systematic review of 26 observational studies, for napping and night sleep beyond age 2.
- BASIS, sleep aids, for the caution about sleep machines disturbing parents and about products claiming deeper infant sleep.
- UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative, co-sleeping and SIDS guide (October 2019), for night waking and feeding being normal and not modifiable in young babies. The responsive feeding quotes in the night feeds section are from UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative parent guidance.
- Moore, Friman, Fruzzetti and MacAleese 2007, Journal of Pediatric Psychology 32(3):283-7: the randomised controlled trial of the bedtime pass, 19 children aged 3 to 6, maintained at 3-month follow-up. Also Friman et al. 1999, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 153(10):1027-9, and Freeman 2006, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 39(4):423-8.
- Mindell et al. 2006, Sleep, for bedtime problems in children aged 2 and over, the 20 to 30% prevalence, and the finding that positive reinforcement was never evaluated as the sole intervention.
Last checked 1 August 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child, speak to your health visitor or GP.