Sleep Solution For Newborn Baby
Newborn babies fail to distinguish the difference between day and night. Hence, irrespective of what time of day or night it is, they will need food. An infant may sleep as much as 16 hours a day or even more, often the sleep of the new born may be in stretches of 3 to 4 hours at a time. Babies have different phases of sleep unlike the pattern of sleep that we adults have. The patterns of sleep in babies are drowsiness, REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, light sleep, deep sleep, and very deep sleep. As the babies grow, their periods of wakefulness increase. A parent should not allow a newborn to sleep for too long without feeding. There are three basic essential requisites required for promoting sleep in a new born. They are – quietness, darkness and warmth. To ensure rapid and satisfying sleep in a new born, these basic requisites should be promoted from the start.
The number of hours a newborn sleeps varies from child to child. Sleep is very important factor in the well being of a child. There is a certain link between the lack of sleep of an infant and his or her behavior. When adults are tired, they can be either cranky or have low energy, but kids can become hyper, unpleasant, and have reduced performance. During the early months of the life of the baby, the baby sleeps when tired. You can not force a baby to sleep when the baby does not want to sleep, and nor can you do anything to wake the baby when the baby is sleeping soundly.
The baby’s body clock can be adjusted for sleeping towards night, by avoiding stimulus during the night time by feeding or through changing the diapers. You must avoid playing or talking with your baby during the night time so that the message that night time is for sleeping is communicated to the baby.
Sleep Tips For Newborns
- Promote habitual daily naps.
- Create a soothing and comfortable sleep environment.
- Avoid changing the sleep place.
- Establish a regular bedtime routine.
- Set the biological clock of your newborn.
- Develop a regular bedtime and awaking time for your newborn.
- Promote health in your newborn.
- Offer appropriate nutrition to your newborn.
- Teach your child techniques to relax.
- Watch out for the sleeping signals in your baby and put her to bed while she is awake but drowsy. The sleepy signs are yawning, rubbing of eyes and general crankiness.
- Maintain the air and the temperature in the room where the child sleeps.
- Avoid varying the sleeping time of the baby.
