Infant Sleep Around the World:
Why Western Norms Aren’t the Only Way
If you’ve ever Googled “how to get my baby to sleep through the night,” chances are you’ve been flooded with articles touting routines, independent sleep, and Ferberizing like it’s a global mandate. But zoom out from North America and you’ll find that the way we approach infant sleep is very cultural—and often driven more by economic policy and social expectations than biology or what's "best" for babies.
Whatever you decide, trust in yourself that you are making decisions that are best for your family.
For many parents in North America, sleep training is often a necessity.
Western Culture and Sleep Training: A Product of Pressure?
In North America—especially in the U.S.—sleep training is more than a parenting choice. It’s often a necessity. With short or non-existent paid maternity leave, many families are forced back into full-time work within weeks or months of birth. Getting a baby to sleep independently (and ideally through the night) becomes an urgent goal—not necessarily because it’s best, but because it’s survivable.
Parents are also under enormous pressure to “bounce back,” return to the gym by 5 a.m., make it to work meetings with clear heads, or simply have a moment to themselves. And while prioritizing mental health and rest is essential, it's important to acknowledge that this need is often created by systems that don’t fully support new parents.
Co-Sleeping, Babywearing, and Naps: Global Sleep Norms
Across much of the world, sleep looks different.
In Japan, co-sleeping is so common there’s even a word for it: kawa no ji, meaning the character 川, where parents sleep on either side of the child. Independent sleep isn’t a milestone but a phase that comes with age.
In Scandinavia, babies are often bundled up for naps outside in their prams—even in winter. Sleep is social and often communal.
In many Indigenous and African cultures, sleep happens in close contact—on a mother’s back, in the crook of a family bed, or during the flow of daily life rather than rigid routines.
These approaches reflect a different relationship to time, family, and autonomy—one where babies’ needs are met through proximity and rhythms, not through training.
What Does the Research Say?
You might be wondering: But do these different approaches affect outcomes? The answer seems to be—not in any significant way.
One 2020 cross-cultural study in Frontiers in Psychology compared infant sleep across 14 countries and found that while practices and beliefs varied greatly, children in all settings eventually developed typical sleep patterns.
Another study in Sleep Health (2016) found that culture and parental perception played a larger role in determining infant sleep expectations than the infant's biology. In other words: your baby’s sleep isn't broken—your cultural lens just might be telling you it is.
And research from UNICEF on early child development stresses that responsive caregiving, not strict routines, is the most predictive factor in a child’s long-term mental and emotional wellbeing.
So What’s the “Right” Way?
There isn’t one.
If sleep training works for your family, great. If you prefer to co-sleep or follow your baby’s lead, also great. In the end, most children end up sleeping through the night, regardless of how they get there.
What truly matters is that parents feel supported, babies feel safe, and the whole family gets the rest they need to thrive—however that looks in your home.
