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The Five Most Surprising Facts About Infant Sleep

By Amy Lage of Well Rested Baby March 25, 2016
1. When Your Child Naps Is Really Important

We all know that babies need a lot of sleep. During your baby’s first year, he will require anywhere from 14-20 hours of sleep per day (depending on his exact age)! As a sleepy newborn, he will be able to sleep at anytime, but by four months when his circadian rhythms kick in – the correct WHEN becomes essential for good sleep.

Nap time should follow your baby’s biological clock. We all have internal clocks called circadian rhythms that make us feel drowsy at certain times. It is easiest at these times to fall asleep and get our most restorative sleep. These times change as your child grows older. If you can base your child’s nap schedule so that they sleep in sync with these rhythms, they will be able to achieve their best sleep. Believe it or not, the sleep that happens during these times is far superior to the sleep they can get at any other time of the day. That’s because, during these periods, our bodies go into a physiologic state that makes us primed for sleep. (Our heart rate slows, our body temperature drops, and our brain wave activity changes). Sleep that happens outside of these windows is considered junk sleep, as it does very little for your child.

An easy way for you to relate to the power of these rhythms is to think about something like jet lag. While traveling outside of your time zone, you may have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep, and even if you do manage to get the usual amount of sleep, you still wake not feeling as rested. That is what it is like for a baby who is not napping in sync with his circadian rhythms. So when do these magical sleep times occur? For a baby age 4-18 months who is on two naps a day, you want him falling asleep for his morning nap in the 8:30-9 a.m. window and for his afternoon nap, in the 12:30-1 p.m. window. For a toddler 14 months or older who is on just one nap a day, this nap needs to begin in the 12-1 p.m. window. For more info on Circadian Rhythms please read Circadian What?

2. Where Your Child Sleeps Matters

Life would be much easier if we could tote our kids anywhere, at anytime, and expect that they will get the sleep they need, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Babies and toddlers will achieve their very best sleep in their bassinet, crib, or bed, and it should be your goal for them to do the majority of their sleeping in this consistent location. Yes, very little babies have the amazing ability to sleep through anything, but once they reach about two months old, they start to become social beings and have a much harder time blocking out what’s going on around them. Sleeping at home in their own darkened room will make sure there are no distractions. Also, babies and toddlers have better quality, more restorative sleep when they are sleeping in a stationary location like their own bed. Vibrations or motion during sleep (think strollers and car seats) force the brain into a lighter sleep state and reduce the restorative power of the nap. It’s similar in comparison to the sleep that you get on an airplane: ok, but not really restful.

A nap on-the-go here and there is fine, but most naps should be taken in your child’s bed. This does make you a bit of a slave to your house, but ask anyone who has kids – that first year flies by. Before you know it, you will be out and about and while staying home can be the pits, it’s worth it to have a happy, well-rested child rather than be out with a cranky, overtired baby.

3. Developmental Milestones Can Wreak Havoc on Your Child’s Naps

Your baby will do a lot of learning and growing in his first year. The cognitive leaps that his brain will undertake are enormous, and his mastering of gross motor skills will be great. When will he tend to think about and practice these new skills? Naptime!

If you think about it, this makes sense, as it is their only alone time during the day. Your baby will process things like verbal skills, fine motor skills, and other cognitive items during his morning nap. He will work on gross motor skills like rolling, sitting up, and crawling during his second nap. When you see this phenomenon at work, the best thing to do is . . . nothing. Keep offering his naps at the correct time and when he is done mastering these skills, the nap will come right back. Please read this article for more – Napping Milestone Mayhem.

4. An Early Bedtime Does Not Cause an Early Awake Time

Early to bed, later to rise? For a child this is in fact true, no matter how counterintuitive it may seem. A consistent early bedtime solves most early wake-up issues. Let’s discuss the science behind why I suggest the early bedtime. The primary goal of an early bedtime is to get your child to sleep before they reach an overtired state. Once over tiredness is reached, their body fights to stay awake by releasing stimulating hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. This is a primitive biological response related to fight or flight. Most of us think of it as a “second wind,” but at bedtime that is the last thing our kids need! The immediate result is that the child has a very difficult time falling asleep. Sometimes parents mistake this difficulty to mean that their child is not yet tired, and they push bedtime even later into the night, which only compounds the problem.

But there is more! Not only does the release of these hormones cause your child to struggle to get to sleep, it also makes it harder for them to stay that way. The buildup of these chemicals in their bodies is the primary cause of night wakings and early morning wake-ups. So how can you ensure this does not happen to your little one? Make sure their bedtime occurs before over tiredness can set in. This chart will help with timing.

5. Your Baby Does Not Have to Cry it Out to Become an Independent Sleeper

Many parents think of sleep training simply as the act of letting one’s child “cry it out.” In my practice, sleep training is the process of teaching your child healthy sleep hygiene. In short, it is making sure that your child is sleeping at the correct times, in the appropriate environment, and has the ability to put himself to sleep. That last part is what most people hang onto – teach my child to put himself to sleep! While this is one of the most important skills you can teach a child for his health and well-being, people cringe at the thought. Why? Because as a society, we equate teaching babies to sleep with hours of letting them cry. This is a misconception.

If the CIO method does not work for your family – then don’t do it! But do not use it as a reason to not teach your child self-soothing skills. You can gently teach your child this skill while staying with him and reassuring and guiding him along the way. It will require time, patience and absolute consistency, but in a short time, it will all come together. Do an Internet search for the terms Camping Out method, Pick Up/Put Down Method, or Fading. Decide which one is for you and then come up with a solid plan that you feel comfortable implementing. These are all gentle methods where you can be with your child all the steps of the way.

I suggest writing out your plan of action so you always have it in writing and are able to stick with it to a T. If you feel like you cannot go at it alone, enlist a certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant to support you through the process. Remember that this is simply the final piece of the puzzle. In order for your child to achieve healthy sleep, they must also be sleeping at the correct times in a consistent environment that is conducive to healthy sleep.

Amy Lage is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Family Sleep Institute certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant. She is founder of Well Rested Baby (www.wellrestedbaby.com). She offers a host of services including in person, phone, email and Skype/FaceTime consultations that can be tailored to meet any family’s needs and schedule. Amy, her husband Jeff, their 4-year-old Stella, their 22-month-old Harley, and their two dogs Jackson and Cody, live in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. Please email her at amy@wellrestedbaby.com with any questions. Be sure to follow WRB on Facebook too for more great sleep tips!