Top Baby Sleep Tips
If parents are struggling to get their babies to sleep what are your tips for them to follow?
Baby’s sleep can be affected by a number of factors - reviewing the following and making adjustments can improve upon their sleep
Establish a daily rhythm
Establishing a daily rhythm that is a simple schedule for sleeping, feeding and having a good wind-down bedtime routine. Having a consistent bedtime routine and familiar bedtime cues are important e.g. quiet time, a warm bath, turning the lights down low, or reading a book are all fantastic ways to signal bedtime is coming. Also a chance for some cuddles and one on one time with your little one to help them to calm down and get them drowsy and ready for sleep. Babies feel safe and secure when they know what and when things are going to happen and they will be happier. This can also give you a chance to plan your day, as well as, creating a calmer household for everyone.
Reducing sleep associations
Sleep association is something that your baby feels they need to help them fall asleep; such as being rocked/ swung from side to side, sucking a bottle or breast etc. It is an inability to get back to sleep without assistance and help. We can help reduce and even eliminate by teaching your little one to resettle and fall back to sleep on their own. If your baby is used to being rocked to sleep, we can gradually reduce and back off this association each day rocking them less and less.
Thus the next time they wake they will not need the same association to get back to sleep. Once these associations have been dropped you will begin to see less and fewer wake-ups.
Taking naps in their circadian rhythms
All humans have a circadian rhythm it’s a powerful internal biological clock where hormones and body temperature rise and fall during the day. When your baby sleeps in synch with their circadian rhythms they are able to get the most restorative and best quality sleep. These fall from 9- 10 am, 12- 2 pm and 6 – 7 pm. Settling will be easier and longer sleep more likely in these times.
Sleep environment
Creating a nice calming sleep environment and ensuring that their room is pitch black, around 12 weeks babies begin to produce their own melatonin, we need to ensure that there room dark as melatonin (the sleepy hormone) can only be produced in darkness.
Are there certain things parents should avoid doing when trying to get their children to sleep?
Baby overtired
A big misconception is if you tire out a baby they will sleep for longer, however, this is untrue and if anything will lead to a baby resisting sleep and waking more overnight and struggling to settle. To prevent this overtiredness we can look at their awake windows, ensuring that your baby isn’t kept awake for too long between naps. For a 6 months old this awake window is around 2-3 hours. Getting them to nap after this time will ensure that they aren’t going to bed overtired.
Bedtime too late
Bedtime is such an important part of the baby-sleep puzzle. Too late a bedtime can lead to your baby being overtired and result in multiple wake-ups overnight. Your baby’s sleep is important an ideal bedtime for a 12- 18 month-year-old is around 6.30 pm and we would aim for a 7 pm bedtime as the baby moves towards the 18 month mark. Anything later and your baby will be overtired. Babies around this age require around 12 hours of sleep overnight to ensure optimal mental and physical development. Don’t fall into the trap of equating an early bedtime with an unnecessarily early-morning wake-up. An over-tired baby that is put to bed late, is much more likely to wake during the night or early hours of the morning.