Logo - The Possums baby and toddler sleep program.

the possums
sleep program

find essentialsbrowse the programabout the programspeak to dr pamaudiologin / sign up

search for articles

  • toddler sleep (12-36 months)
  • FAQs

Does your toddler wake excessively at night because of bedsharing?

Dr Pamela Douglas22nd of Aug 202323rd of May 2024

mother and child cuddle as they sleep in bed

Sharing the bed with your toddler doesn't cause excessive night waking

Bedsharing doesn't cause excessive night waking in toddlers. If your toddler is waking excessively at nights, his disrupted sleep pattern is typically due to the settings on his body clock, which are out of sync with yours, and with day and night.

You can find out about causes of excessive night waking in toddlers here. In this situation, your little one's body clock requires a reset.

Is it possible that a bedsharing toddler wakes more often than a toddler who isn't bedsharing, though this remains in the spectrum of normal toddler night waking? The evidence is not clear. You might find it easier to deal with your toddler's normal night waking by sharing the bed. Or bedsharing may not suit your family at all! Only you know what's right for your own unique family situation.

The main thing is to avoid repeated toddler sleep battles! A pattern of stress and distress about sleep is not good for your family.

Why do parents bedshare?

Bedsharing in early childhood remains a common practice in both Western and non-Western countries. There are many cultures in which most parents continue to share their bed with small children.

From an evolutionary perspective, humans have always slept with their toddler close to their bodies, often but not always the breastfeeding mother's body, because this keeps the dial on the toddler's sympathetic nervous system dialled down in the night. Sleeping close to a parent's body in the night makes responding to your toddler easy. Sleeping close to the mother's body makes breastfeeding easy.

  • You can find out about transitioning a toddler out of your bed, if you're ready to do this, here.

  • You can find out about protecting your little one's sleep throughout childhood here.

Selected references

Akacem LD, Simpkin CT, Carskadon MA, Wright KP, Jenni OG, Achermann P, et al. The timing of the circadian clock and sleep differ between napping and non-napping toddlers. Plos One. 2015;10(4):e0125181.

Mason GM, Holmes JF, Andre C, Spencer RMC. Bedsharing in early childhood: frequency, partner characteristics, and relations to sleep. Journal of Genetic Psychology. 2021;182(4):269-288.

Mindell JA, Sadeh A, Kwon R, Goh DYT. Cross-cultural differences in the sleep of preschool children. Sleep Medicine. 2013;14(12):1283-1289.

Thorpe K, Staton S, Sawyer E, Pattinson C, Haden C, Smith S. Napping, development and health from 0 to 5 years: a systematic review. BMJ. 2015;100:615-622.

family all asleep on their sides in bed

Finished

share this article

Next up in FAQs

Would it help your toddler's sleep to delay or space out breastfeeding in the night?

breastfeeding toddler in mother's lap

Does your toddler seem to be breastfeeding all night? The sleep deprivation can be unbearable. Are you wondering if spacing out the breastfeeds might help? You could even be experimenting with this right now, trying not to offer the breast every time your small child wakes, hoping desperately to make the nights work better. You might be wondering if you should wean.

It can be helpful to know that

  • Excessive night waking is different to biologically normal night waking in toddlers. A pattern of excessive night waking is typically caused by disruptions to your toddler's circadian or body clock settings. It's not caused by the breastfeeding, despite what you might have heard.

  • Your toddler isn't waking excessively in the night because you breastfeed her frequently and flexibly. But she...

more articles in FAQs

  • 7

    minute
    read

    Would it help your toddler's sleep to delay or space out breastfeeding in the night?
  • 9

    minute
    read

    Would night weaning from the breast help your toddler sleep better?
  • 6

    minute
    read

    Would it help with your toddler's sleep to stop the bottle (if you've been bottle feeding)?
  • 3

    minute
    read

    Is your toddler's snoring a problem?
View full article list
Possum sleep program logo

the possums
baby & toddler
sleep program

about the programfind essentialsspeak to dr pamaudiocode of ethicsterms & conditionsprivacy policyFAQs / help
Dr Pam logo

© Dr Pamela Douglas 2025

visit drpam.baby for more programs