It is common for such immaturity to cause problems only during sleep. There is a small tendency for SIDS to run in families. Doctors suggest that babies who are closely related to a SIDS case, be examined regularly. If your baby stops breathing or has irregular breathing during sleep, tell your doctor immediately. Studies in England have shown that Back to sleep which refers the practice of putting newborns and infants into their cribs on their backs, significantly reduces the rate of crib death.
Doctors now advise having babies sleep on their backs.
That is why scientists term the cycle 'a circadian rhythm' which means 'about a day'. Actually the cycle is usually longer than 24 hours by 15 - 75 minutes depending on such factors as age and random variation among people. The cycle tends to be longer in young people and to shorten as we age. Thus, left without any information about time or the need to get up in the morning, most people will go to bed later and later each successive night and get up later and later each successive morning. It may be that your son has a particularly long wakefulness-sleep cycle.