This is an English rendering of a Polish public-health reference. The care paths it names (112, night and holiday care NiŚOZ, primary care POZ) are Polish. This is not medical advice.

PL

This is not medical advice Life-threatening emergency (Poland): 112

Home › Sleep

Why does a baby sleep restlessly and toss around?

Applies to age: 0–12 months

In short

A baby's sleep is made up of phases that repeat several times every night, and each child has their own sleep pattern. Growth spurts, teething and illnesses may affect sleep.

Sources: NHS, Portal Pacjenta, NFZ i Akademia NFZChecked: Approved: October 13, 2026Report an error

What is normal

Some claims: international norm

  • Every baby has their own pattern of sleeping and waking, which is unlikely to be the same as in other children.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Your baby will have their own pattern of waking and sleeping, and it's unlikely to be the same as other babies you know.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • Sleep phases repeat several times every night.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Fazy powtarzają się kilka razy każdej nocy.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

  • In the first phase of sleep (falling asleep), sleep is light and the child wakes easily.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Sen jest płytki i dziecko łatwo się budzi.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

  • In REM sleep there are rapid eye movements and high brain activity.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Podczas tej fazy występują szybkie ruchy gałek ocznych i wysoka aktywność mózgu.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

  • Newborns invariably wake up repeatedly at night for the first few months.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Newborn babies invariably wake up repeatedly in the night for the first few months, and disturbed nights can be very hard to cope with.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • Being too hot or too cold may disturb a newborn's sleep.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Being too hot or too cold can also disturb their sleep.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • At 6–12 months, some children may wake at night because of teething discomfort or hunger.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    Teething discomfort or hunger may wake some babies during the night.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • Growth spurts, teething and illnesses may affect a child's sleep.
    Source: NHS · international norm – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    And remember, growth spurts, teething and illnesses can all affect how your baby sleeps.

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

ER / 112 (Poland)

Some claims: international norm

Immediate medical help needed: international norm

  • A child who has a high or low temperature needs immediate medical help.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    has a high or low temperature

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • A child who has seizures needs immediate medical help.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    has a fit (seizure or convulsion)

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • A child who is unresponsive, floppy or harder to wake than usual needs immediate medical help.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    is unresponsive, floppy or not waking up as easily as usual

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • A child who has difficulty breathing, is breathless or breathes very fast needs immediate medical help.
    Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)

    Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:

    has difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage), is breathless or breathing very fast

    NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [1]

  • Call an ambulance in a situation of immediate threat to life.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    bezpośredniego zagrożenia życia

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

  • Call an ambulance also in the case of seizures.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    drgawki

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

See a doctor

  • A sick child reported to a primary care (POZ) clinic should get a visit on the day of the report.
    Source: Portal Pacjenta – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    Jeśli przyjdziesz chory do przychodni, powinieneś uzyskać wizytę w dniu zgłoszenia.

    Portal Pacjenta · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [2]

  • Night and holiday care (NiŚOZ) is indicated, among other things, when symptoms get worse and you cannot wait until morning.
    Source: NFZ i Akademia NFZ – show the quote

    Verbatim quote from the source:

    Polish original

    objawy się nasilą i nie możesz czekać do rana

    NFZ i Akademia NFZ · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-12 · license [3]

international norm “International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

International norm

“International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.

Sources

  1. NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia)
    License: Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The summary is ours and is not attributed to the NHS.
  2. Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl)
    License: CC BY 3.0 PL. Source: Portal Pacjenta (pacjent.gov.pl). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original.
  3. NFZ i Akademia NFZ
    License: Treści NFZ – wykorzystanie ze wskazaniem źródła, bez obrotu komercyjnego. Source: NFZ i Akademia NFZ. Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original.

See an error or outdated information? Report an error in this answer. Answer checked against the sources on October 12, 2026.

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