What is temperament?

Ever wonder why one baby can sleep through an Ishay Ribo concert while another baby wakes up if you breathe the wrong way? Or why some babies just go with the flow of life and others have a total meltdown when you switch the brand of diapers they wear? 

It all comes down to temperament: your baby’s inborn personality.

How does temperament affect sleep?

Temperament affects everything from how easily your baby falls asleep to how they handle sleep regressions and changes in routine. How they react to new sleep environments, how they sleep when you travel, or when they’re teething.

You can’t change your baby’s temperament. The good news is that understanding your baby’s temperament can help you work with their natural tendencies instead of fighting against them. 

There are nine basic traits that make up a baby’s temperament. Let’s go through them and learn how to make the most of each of them to help your baby sleep as best as they can.

Intensity: How Strong Reactions Impact Sleep

Some babies react to life with a lot of enthusiasm. Every reaction – happy or sad, excited or angry- feels like fireworks. These are the babies who screech in delight and wail in despair. Other babies seem more low key, taking things in stride.

High-Intensity Baby

• What it looks like: If they’re happy, they’re ecstatic. If they’re upset, the whole neighborhood knows about it. 
• Impact on Sleep: High-intensity babies are more likely to have intense emotional reactions to changes in their sleep routines. They may cry loudly when waking at night and have strong emotional responses to bedtime routines. These are the babies who cry when you put their sleep sack on, or don’t sleep a wink when you’re on vacation.
• Sleep Support: Offer co-regulation by staying close and offering comfort when they’re upset. Offer soothing like gentle rocking or patting, soft singing, and dim lighting, to help them settle. A relaxed and predictable bedtime routine helps these babies know what to expect. 

Low-Intensity Baby

• What it looks like: Their smiles are gentle and sweet, and their cries can almost sound more like whimpers than full on cries.
• Impact on Sleep: These babies often have an easier time at bedtime, and flow with the rhythm of the day. On the flipside, because they’re so low-key, sometimes their sleep signals get overlooked, making it harder to know when they’re tired. 
• Sleep Support : Watch for subtle sleep cues around sleep times – they can be easy to miss!

 

Mood: How a Baby’s Mood Affects Bedtime

Some babies are naturally happy and easygoing, while others are more serious, pensive or fussy.

Positive Mood Baby

• What it looks like: Smiles easily, giggles at everything, easy to play with, friendly to new people.
• Impact on Sleep: Positive mood babies generally wake up in a good mood and are easier to settle back to sleep after a nighttime wakeup.
• Sleep Support: Keep the bedtime routine light and enjoyable, reinforcing their cheerful nature.

Serious or Fussy Baby

• What it looks like: Needs extra reassurance in new situations, tends to be skeptical of new people.
• Impact on Sleep: Serious or fussy babies may struggle more with bedtime and may need more comfort and patience during transitions.
• Sleep Support: Offer co-regulation by staying calm and consistent during their bedtime routine. Be responsive to their cues, offering extra comfort and reassurance during sleep transitions like sleep regressions.

Persistence: Helping Babies Who Fight Sleep

Does your baby keep trying to roll over for weeks until they get it? Do you have the kind of baby that will cry endlessly?

Persistent Baby

• What it looks like: Tries to crawl before they’re ready, insists on holding their own spoon (mess be damned).
• Impact on Sleep: Persistent babies often resist sleep, especially when it clashes with their desire to keep exploring, playing, or hanging with Mama. 
• Sleep support: Co-regulation is key here—persistent babies may need extra patience and support to settle down for sleep. Offer comfort by staying close and gently guiding them through bedtime routines. The more consistent you are with your approach, the more likely they are to adjust.

Easygoing Baby

• What it looks like: Tries something new but moves on quickly if it’s hard.
• Impact on Sleep: These babies are often naturally better sleepers, and fall back asleep pretty quickly after night wakings. 
• Sleep Support: Keep in mind that when soothing your easygoing baby at night, they often need less support than a persistent baby might. Go with your gut, always.

 
Regularity (Rhythmicity): The Consistency of Sleep 

Does your baby nap, eat and fill their diaper like clockwork? You’ve got a highly regular baby. 

Highly Regular Baby

• What it looks like: Wakes up at the same time every day, hungry at the same times, naps on schedule.
• Impact on Sleep: Highly regular babies thrive on a consistent routine and may get thrown off if their schedule is disrupted. Maintain their routine as much as possible on holidays, vacations, and outings.
• Sleep Support: Maintain a predictable routine and use co-regulation to comfort them if their schedule changes. Being consistent in bedtime and wake time will help them feel secure, even if changes occur.

Unpredictable Baby

• What it looks like: One day they nap for two hours, the next it’s 20 minutes.  
• Impact on Sleep: Unpredictable babies may find it harder to adapt to a fixed sleep schedule. 
• Sleep Support: Take the pressure off of sticking to a set schedule. Wake windows are often more helpful than clock schedules for these babies. Understanding that you can’t predict their sleep times that much can ease the frustration when they “won’t keep to a schedule.” 

Activity Level: How Energy Levels Affect Sleep

Some babies are always “on” while others are happy to sit and observe the world around them.

High-Activity Baby

• What it looks like: Squirms non-stop during diaper changes, loves climbing all over the furniture, doesn’t like to be still. 
• Impact on Sleep: High-activity babies may struggle to wind down and need more help to relax at bedtime. A longer bedtime routine with more sensory input (baby yoga, baby massage) can be helpful. 
• Sleep Support:  Make sure to get lots of active play in earlier in the day, gradually transitioning to calming activities before bedtime. 

Low-Activity Baby

• Example: Loves to cuddle, happy to observe and just chill.
• Impact on Sleep: Low-activity babies might need extra stimulation to build enough sleep pressure to fall asleep.
• Sleep support: Make sure your low-activity baby gets enough playtime in as well! 

Distractibility: Managing Distractions for Better Sleep

Does your baby get easily sidetracked, or can they stay focused for a bit on one thing?

Highly Distractible Baby

• What it looks like: Turns their head at every little sound while feeding, jumps at voices from another room.
• Impact on Sleep: Highly distractible babies may wake easily and struggle to stay asleep. Sounds in the night can wake them easily and shadows on the wall can captivate them.
• Sleep Support: These babies may need extra reassurance and comfort to help them fall asleep in a quiet, focused environment. Use white noise, darken the room, and limit distractions before bed.

Low-Distractibility Baby

• What it looks like: So focused on a toy, they don’t notice when you call their name. These kinds of babies stay pretty calm in busy environments as they don’t take in all the stimuli as easily as a more distractible baby.
• Impact on Sleep: These babies may sleep better once they’re settled, but often need more help settling in for sleep if they’re very focused on an activity or a toy.
• Sleep Support: Offer a gentle transition to bedtime, gradually guiding them away from distractions and into a calming bedtime routine.

Approach/Withdrawal: Navigating New Sleep Environments

Is your baby eager to explore or more hesitant around new things?

Approaching Baby

• What it looks like: Smiles at new people, loves adventure and exploring new environments. These babies are ever curious.
• Impact on Sleep: Approaching babies generally adapt well to new environments, but they still benefit from a consistent bedtime routine to help them wind down in unfamiliar places. These babies have an easier time with travel and new places (note: easier doesn’t mean easy – travel is never easy with babies!).
• Sleep Support: Maintain co-regulation by staying close and offering comfort in new settings. A familiar bedtime routine can help them settle in new environments, as can extra support for the first few nights.

Withdrawing Baby

• What it looks like: Cries when meeting new people, hesitant in new situations or new environments.
• Impact on Sleep: Withdrawing babies may have a harder time with transitions, sleep regressions, or sleeping in new places.
• Sleep Support: These babies need a lot of patience and support in new environments – be it travel, a new crib or a new sibling. Introduce sleep changes gradually, offering extra comfort and reassurance to help them feel secure during transitions.

Adaptability: Helping Babies Adjust to Sleep Changes

Does your baby adapt easily to changes, seeming to just roll with the punches? Or do they usually need time and support to adjust to changes?

Highly Adaptable Baby

• What it looks like: Doesn’t mind if naps are late, the day flows differently – this baby adjusts easily.
• Impact on Sleep: Highly adaptable babies can handle changes in their schedule or sleep environment with relative ease.
• Sleep Support: You can play around more with the schedule of a highly adaptable baby. This can be especially helpful if you’re trying to sync nap schedules with a sibling or daycare.

Low-Adaptability Baby

• What it looks like: These babies don’t do well with change: leaving the bath, trying a new bottle, change in routine or a new babysitter.
• Impact on Sleep: Low-adaptability babies can struggle hard with changes in their sleep routine or environment. They struggle to adapt to anything new.
• Sleep Support: Keep expectations of sleep very low during a transition. Offer extra support with calm and clear transitions before bedtime, staying consistent with routines to reduce anxiety, and offering lots of co-regulation as needed. These babies need extra patience!

Sensitivity (Sensory Threshold): Adjustments for Sensitive Babies

Some babies are ultra-sensitive to their environment, and to textures and sounds – while others are less bothered and can sleep through loud noises and bright lights.

Highly Sensitive Baby

• What it looks like: Cries if clothes are itchy, startles easily.
• Impact on Sleep: Highly sensitive babies may wake easily from noises or discomfort.
• Sleep Support:: Provide co-regulation by ensuring their environment is calm and soothing. Use soft pajamas, white noise, and a dark room to create a peaceful sleep setting.

Less Sensitive Baby

• What it looks like: Sleeps through loud noises, rarely fusses.
• Impact on Sleep: Less sensitive babies might sleep more easily but still need consistent cues to signal that it’s time for bed.
• Sleep Support: Provide clear signals and co-regulation to help them transition into sleep smoothly.

Working with Your Baby’s Temperament for Better Sleep

Here’s the most important thing to know: temperament isn’t something to “fix.” We can’t change our baby’s temperament, and what’s more: we shouldn’t want to. This is how they were created, with infinite wisdom and their own unique soul stamp.

Temperament is something to work with! The more you understand your baby’s unique traits, the easier it is to support their sleep in a way that feels natural for them.

Whether you have a spirited, sensitive, high-energy baby, a chill, easygoing one or any of the myriads of possible combinations in between those ends, your baby is the perfect one for you.

Psst… Have you seen my free mini course about why Cry It Out won’t work for your baby? It will teach you three reasons I recommend avoiding Cry It Out or Ferber methods, and what you can do instead to help nurture your baby towards better sleep! Grab the free course here.