Why Sleeping Through the Night is a Social Construct: The Reality of Human Sleep Patterns

When it comes to sleep, there’s a pervasive belief that a full night’s rest means sleeping straight through from bedtime until morning without interruption. This idea is often held up as the gold standard of healthy sleep, particularly for infants and young children. However, the truth is that humans don’t naturally sleep through the night in a single, uninterrupted block of time. This expectation is more a social construct than a biological norm, and understanding this can help shift perspectives on sleep, especially when working with new parents.