When babies do not sleep well, it can cost parents their last nerves and strength. What is the best time to put the baby to bed in the evening? What rituals help children with sleep disorders fall asleep? Should you keep a sleep diary? Narges Poyan, a doctor from Frankfurt am Main, answered these and other questions for DW.
Deutsche Welle. What does it say about a sleep disorder in a child?
Narges Poyan. Well, in the first year of a baby’s life, it’s still too early to talk about a violation of his sleep, since the baby does not have a clear separation between the state of wakefulness and the state of sleep. He lives in a certain intermediate stage and periodically falls into phases of deep sleep, which is very important for him: in a dream, the baby grows, and his body gets used to the new environment. It is absolutely normal if a newborn wakes up every two hours, day and night, to eat. Infants usually adapt to the day-night rhythm only by the age of three months. Gradually, they begin to fix that when it is light, everyone around is awake, and when it gets dark, they sleep. From about this time, children in most cases sleep at night for six hours in a row, that is, we can already talk about a full night’s sleep.
Well, by six months, the duration of a baby’s nightly sleep can reach seven or even eight hours, even if he still has restless sleep phases. By about a year old, children should be able to sleep for eight hours at a time. However, this is theoretical. In practice, changes in sleep and wakefulness are individual for each child. But in any case, in the first year of a child’s life, the sleep of his parents can be severely disturbed due to the fact that their child sleeps too restlessly. And in order to find time for rest, I would advise young mothers and fathers to keep a sleep diary – to document in detail at what hours their baby most often falls asleep and how long he sleeps. This will give them the opportunity to navigate the situation and at certain hours to allocate time for themselves to rest, which is very, very important.
– The child may wake up because he is cold or hot. How can you tell if he’s uncomfortable?
– Most parents tend to dress their children too warmly at night. Meanwhile, the body temperature of babies, as a rule, rises in the evening, and if the child is also dressed too warmly, this can become a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) from overheating. Therefore, the temperature in the room where the baby sleeps should not exceed 18 degrees. If the bedroom is cool, and the baby constantly throws off the blanket, a sleeping bag will help. In general, it is better for a baby to sleep without blankets and pillows – otherwise, he may suffocate.
By the way, parents of a newborn should not worry if his nose, hands or feet are cool. It says nothing about the overall body temperature. It’s just that in the first months of a child’s life, heat exchange and blood circulation in the body are imperfect, the limbs are still not well supplied with blood and therefore are cold. In this case, the child can wear special socks and mittens for babies.
– It happens that the child falls asleep well, but soon wakes up and does not sleep all night long. What can be done in such a situation?
– Phases of deep sleep in young children usually occur before 23:00 and after 4:00 in the morning, and in between them there are many so-called REM-phases (Rapid Eye Movement) – phases of REM sleep, characterized by increased brain activity when sleep occurs processing of acquired knowledge. One of the signs of such a phase is the rapid movements of the eyeballs. It is not uncommon for children older than one or two years of age to talk in their sleep during REM phases, some even sing or kick. It happens that children cry loudly, break out when they are picked up, and almost do not react to what they are talking to. This makes many parents think that there is something wrong with the child. They wake him up, carry him in their arms, give him a bottle. But so they only disturb the baby. Meanwhile, after REM phases, many children fall into deep sleep on their own. Therefore, it is better to first observe what is happening, sing a familiar melody or whisper something soothing, or calmly put your hand on the baby’s chest and gently stroke it.
Another thing is if the child is really crying. Then he must be picked up and calmed down. Babies need someone they can trust – both day and night. If we, the parents, are not around to provide the baby with the necessary assistance, then his stress level increases incredibly. Even if, after a certain time, a child who has not received support stops crying, this does not mean that he calmed down on his own: it means that he has come to terms with the situation. Children at this age are simply not able to calm themselves when they cry. Studies have shown that stress levels in children in such conditions still do not decrease. Stress hormones remain in the blood for a very long time and negatively affect the development of the baby.
What time is the best time to put your baby to bed in the evening?
– It’s very individual. It is important here that parents know the body language of their child and understand in time that he is tired. If the child yawns or rubs his eyes, then it’s time to put him to bed. It is important not to skip the stage when he can quickly fall asleep. It goes without saying that the baby should not be allowed to play active games in the evening. It is very useful to observe certain rituals before going to bed, which, of course, should be appropriate for the age of the child. So, the smallest ones are traditionally put to bed, quietly singing a lullaby, lulling, rocking in a crib or in their arms. It often takes more time to put a six- to seven-month-old baby to bed. Before going to bed, it is also better to calm him down, to vilify him around the room in his arms. With older children, you can hug each other and talk a little, remember what good things happened during the day. It is very important that mom or dad radiate complete calm, peace and fully show parental love and tenderness. This is extremely necessary for the child, because it makes him happy and instills confidence in him.
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