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The Importance of Sleep Training
Welcome, everyone! At Moms Manager Vancouver, we celebrate your pregnancy and forthcoming birth. As a mother in your family, we are dedicated to helping you become a loving and healthy mother to your precious child.
Why Should We Ensure a Happy Sleep?
Sleep is as important as the food we eat. It's deeply connected to the growth and development of newborns and infants, being a major activity for their brains during these stages. Thus, it is crucial for parents to create an environment conducive to good sleep and to teach their children proper sleep habits from the outset. Newborns often have their days and nights mixed up, waking, eating, and sleeping in 2-3 hour cycles. Since their sleep-wake rhythm hasn't yet formed, providing an appropriate sleep environment for the baby is necessary.
Five Key Aspects of Infant Sleep Training
Infant sleep plays a vital role in physical growth and brain development. Insufficient sleep can lead to decreased immunity and more frequent minor illnesses. Sleep is likened to an internal physician that restores and recharges the body every night. Poor sleep doesn't just result in tiredness; it also diminishes memory and concentration, impairs learning ability, and leads to a loss of interest in learning activities. This can lead to a path from childhood to adult obesity and reduced sociability. The infancy period is critical for significant brain development and physical growth. Efficient deep sleep begins with good sleep habits. A child with sleep disorders may often be irritable and fussy. This guide introduces step-by-step considerations for starting sleep training.
Sleep Training from 6 Weeks of Age
Why Can't Babies Sleep Well?
In the womb, fetuses receive nutrition through the umbilical cord in the darkness, without a concept of day or night, thus sleeping and waking irregularly. After birth, the environment changes, and the baby starts adapting to a new rhythm of sleeping, eating, and waking. The daytime awake periods become longer, and at night, once asleep, they can sleep for 6-10 hours. This bodily rhythm, maintained and strengthened, forms the sleep pattern. It is advisable to start sleep training from 6 weeks of age. Infant sleep is crucial for brain growth and development. The baby's brain solidifies the vast array of information and memories received during the day while asleep at night. Failure in this process can impact learning abilities. Similarly, physical growth is paramount during this explosively growing phase, and the immune system's hormones are actively secreted during deep sleep phases. Adequate sleep is essential for growth and reducing minor illnesses.
Practicing Putting to Sleep by Laying Down
Sleep training starts with distinguishing between day and night. During the bright day, increase physical activities by making eye contact, playing, and making noise with the baby. At night, create a sleep-inducing environment quietly without stimulation. Next comes establishing a sleep ritual, a set of signals indicating it's time to sleep. Starting when they are drowsy makes it easier. From 6-8 weeks of age, babies should practice lying on their back to sleep by themselves daily. Creating a sleep ritual with activities like bathing, changing into pajamas, reading storybooks, singing lullabies, giving massages, saying goodnight, and turning off the lights can be comforting. If the baby resists sleeping, rather than responding immediately, leave them alone for about 10 minutes. This practice helps them learn to sleep independently. If parents find sleep training challenging, seeking help from a professional sleep training consultant is recommended. The ideal bedtime for infants is between 7-8 PM, and the sleep ritual should last about 15-20 minutes.
Putting to Bed Early if There's Trouble Sleeping at Night
Most people's biological clocks are set to fall asleep by 9 PM at the latest and wake up between 6 to 7 AM. If the surroundings are bright and noisy at night, it creates a bodily rhythm that keeps the brain in an alert state, which is why some people find it hard to fall asleep even when they're in bed.
Young children often wait for parents who come home late from work and miss their ideal bedtime, staying up too late. If this pattern repeats, the brain starts to perceive bedtime as playtime instead of sleep time.
Bad sleep habits should be corrected early. It might be challenging, but you should try to put your child to bed early for at least three weeks. This duration is needed for the brain to recognize the new sleep pattern. To solidify this habit, consistency must be maintained for about 12 weeks. If the sleeping time or place changes, it could become difficult to establish healthy sleep habits.
Blocking Out Light Over Sleep Induction Apps
Apps that use natural sounds or videos, like water or wind, to induce sleep (known as ASMR apps) are not recommended as they can lead to digital insomnia. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, videos designed to stimulate the brain and induce psychological relaxation. Even if you fall asleep, noise or light can prevent you from entering deep sleep, lowering the quality of your rest. Watching ASMR videos on smartphones can reduce the secretion of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. Digital devices like smartphones, tablets, and PCs emit blue light, which can stimulate the brain and disrupt the sleep cycle by making the brain think it's daytime. Using these devices before bed can delay your biological clock, making it harder to fall asleep the next day and creating a vicious cycle. Especially in the first three months, when babies are developing their own sleep rhythms, wrong habits can make it difficult to establish a proper sleep pattern later on.
Morning Sunlight for Better Sleep at Night
Since newborns' nervous systems are not fully developed, they sleep a lot, regardless of it being day or night. By 4 to 6 weeks, many infants adopt a cycle of sleeping for 4 hours and then being awake for 4 hours. Around 4 to 6 months, infants usually start getting used to a day-night sleep schedule. After the first year, most infants sleep through the night for 8 to 9 hours without waking. However, sleep disorders are common and can occur at different times during the first few years.
Create a Consistent Sleeping Environment
Parents should reduce stimulation for the child in the late evening, maintain consistent room temperature and humidity, and keep the child's room dark at night to support their visual development and help them sleep better. Infants should be encouraged to fall asleep on their own, rather than in their parents' arms, from an early age. This practice helps them self-soothe and fall back asleep if they wake up during the night.
To minimize the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), infants should always be placed on their backs to sleep, rather than on their stomachs or sides. This recommendation has contributed to a decrease in SIDS cases over recent years. Additionally, infants should not sleep with soft pillows, toys, or thick blankets that could obstruct their breathing. Using a pacifier when putting an infant to sleep can also help prevent SIDS. (It's advised to introduce a pacifier after the infant is one month old or has become accustomed to breastfeeding for safety.)
• Separation anxiety may occur.
• Children can move independently and control their environment.
• It allows for longer naps during the day.
• Excessive excitement before bedtime can occur.
• Nightmares may become more frequent.
• Finding the optimal sleep pattern for ages 0-3 is essential.
Standard Sleeping Hours
| Age | Night Sleep | Nap Time | Number of Naps | Total Sleep Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 8 hours 30 min | 8 hours | 4 times | 16 hours 30 min |
| 3 months | 10 hours | 5 hours | 3 times | 15 hours |
| 6 months | 11 hours | 3 hours | 2 times | 14 hours |
| 12 months | 11 hours | 2 hours 45 min | 2 times | 13 hours 45 min |
| 18 months | 11 hours | 2 hours | 1 time | 13 hours 30 min |
| 24 months | 11 hours | 2 hours | 1 time | 13 hours |
| 36 months | 10 hours 30 min | 1 hour 30 min | 1 time | 12 hours |