Sleep is one of the basic human needs. It is necessary to replenish the spent energy, growth and development of the baby. Healthy and comfortable sleep is the basis of good memory and development of learning abilities. Therefore, it is so important to take care of the quality rest of the child.
Baby
The necessary sleep time for a baby
The time it takes for babies to sleep varies as they get older. So newborns are practically not awake. They sleep about 20 hours a day and wake up only to refresh themselves. A sound and long sleep is the key to the growth and health of the baby. After 6-8 weeks, the child's needs change. He becomes interested in the world around him, the sleep time is gradually reduced.
How much babies sleep depending on age:
- At 3 months, the baby rests at night for about 12 hours and about 5 during the day;
- By six months, babies become more active. They need a lot of attention and communication. During the day their sleep usually does not exceed 4 hours, at night it takes 10-11;
- From 9 months of age, children rest even less. The number of daytime dreams is gradually decreasing. The length of the night rest does not change. The less the baby sleeps during the day, the more time he will spend in bed at night. It takes about 10-11 hours for children to replenish lost energy and fully relax. This norm has been maintained for several years. During the day by year, babies sleep only about two hours, some take a little longer to recover.
Sometimes young parents believe that their children practically do not rest. This misconception especially applies to babies who are breastfed. The fact is that in infants, superficial sleep predominates. They plunge into it as soon as they close their eyes. Therefore, even while eating, children sleep, which means they rest.
Baby on the guards
When to put a baby to bed
From infancy, you need to accustom your child to the regimen, creating a schedule that is convenient for all family members. It cannot be assumed that all babies behave the same way, going to bed and waking up at a certain time. Some have a longer day rest, while others have a night rest. You can adjust the regime, the main thing is to act consistently and take into account the interests of the family. What time to put the baby to bed at night depends on his age and the established regime in the family.
First 3 months
In the first three months, the baby is just getting used to the new world. At first, he sleeps a lot, after a few weeks he begins to distinguish between day and night, his biological clock is included in the work. Due to frequent daytime awakenings, characterized by a chaotic nature, the time to go to bed at night is constantly getting lost. It is necessary to help the child establish a regime, this will make life easier not only for him, but also for his parents.
Note! The quality of the baby's sleep is influenced by the emotional state of the mother, which the baby acutely feels. Increased nervousness, scandals in the family make the child easily excitable, and he cannot relax.
It is important to create a calm, peaceful environment for the baby to feel safe. Then he will quickly fall asleep, and will begin to wake up with a smile. A good mood and well-being indicate that there is no reason for concern.
3-6 months
When the sun goes down, the body begins to tune in to rest, all processes slow down. A person needs to rest in order to replenish the spent energy. The baby obeys the laws of nature and almost always unconsciously tries to go to bed from 19 to 21 hours. Often the parents themselves interfere with him, entertaining him in any way. They believe that going to bed early will lead to a nightly awakening.
Moms and dads ignore the signs that the child gives:
- rubs reddened eyes;
- does not focus on toys and other objects;
- behaves too actively, despite the approach of night;
- sucks a finger;
- becomes moody.
Kid's whims
If the child goes too far, it is quite difficult to lay him down. Although he is tired, he is overly active and refuses to go to bed. This is the result of an overabundance of emotions. It is also believed that the hormone melatonin is produced from 6 pm to 8 pm, which ensures comfortable sleep. If you don't take advantage of the moment, time will be wasted. Then melatonin will be replaced by cortisol, which is responsible for vigor. The infant's mood and behavior will change dramatically. You need to carefully monitor the baby so as not to miss the time when he wants to sleep.
The time to go to bed from 19 to 21 is the most optimal. The child will sleep until 7 in the morning, and his daylight hours will have a maximum duration. You should not give preference to daytime rest.
Note! It is better to wake up the baby if he sleeps for more than 3.5 hours in a row. Let him replenish the spent energy at night.
6-12 months
At this age, the number of daytime dreams and their duration are reduced. As a result, the regime gets confused, it has to be corrected again. Sometimes you need to give up one daytime sleep if it shifts to the evening, for example, if after the third "quiet hour" the baby wakes up after 8 pm. As a result, the child leaves at night too late. Then it takes a little effort to rebuild the baby. It's good when you manage to put your baby to bed from 8 pm to 9 pm.
Komarovsky has his own opinion about the optimal time to go to bed. He believes that the main thing is the comfort of the family, you need to put the child to bed at what time it is convenient for mom and dad. If everyone feels good and calm from the fact that the baby goes to rest at midnight, and the baby feels good and does not show anxiety, the regime does not require adjustment.
You always need to focus on the state of the toddler:
- If he is moody, whiny, gets tired quickly, then it is worth reconsidering the time of sleep, wakefulness and saturation of the day;
- When there are no unpleasant symptoms, the child does not activate in the evening, wakes up in a great mood, then you should not worry.
Happy baby
How to properly lay a baby
Children quickly get used to repetitive activities. Therefore, parents often create bedtime rituals. the main thing – perform those actions that are pleasant to the child and have a calming effect on him:
- Take a bubble bath;
- Relaxing massage
- Read a fairy tale;
- Listen to your favorite tunes;
- Change your diaper, put on your pajamas;
- Put toys in place or spread them out on the crib, saying good night.
The child remembers what awaits him next and subconsciously prepares for the rest. He feels attention, care, feels protected and relaxes.
Recently, joint sleep with a child has been practiced. In the first months, this is really a salvation, especially for mom, who does not have to jump up every half hour. The main thing is to follow safety rules so as not to harm the baby. After a few months, you can start accustoming your baby to your crib.
Note! It is not recommended to use motion sickness, the sooner the baby learns to fall asleep on his own, the better. You can always stroke it, take it on the handles, but then put it back in the crib.
Baby in the crib
What is the danger of waking at night
Children usually stay up late or wake up at night for several reasons:
- Lack of active activities during the day, monotony. The kid lacks emotions, he has not spent the accumulated strength;
- Unhappy with indoor conditions, such as too hot, stuffy or cold. The baby may have too little clothing, or the mattress may be too firm. It is imperative to ventilate the room before going to bed and adhere to the optimal temperature and humidity;
- Long day rest. It is recommended to wake the children up in the morning to increase the length of the night's sleep. It is considered dangerous for newborns if they do not wake up for more than four hours in a row. The kid will become weakened and weakened that he will not be able to wake up on his own. Therefore, you need to stir it up, feed it and send it to rest further.
Late lying down has a negative effect on the infant's psyche. Skipping the "sleep window" leads to overexcitation of the baby. He does not want to fit in, behaves too actively, although he feels tired. As a result, he, exhausted, falls into a dream, which cannot be called calm. It is the neglect of the need for rest that leads to:
- Tantrums, whims, accompanied by a bad mood;
- Nighttime awakenings that may be associated with nightmares. The child wakes up in tears and for some time does not react to what is happening around. He does not perceive the words of loved ones and does not seem to notice the touch, he can even push and pull away. After 15-20 minutes, the baby calms down.
As a result, the baby does not have time to rest, and his nervous system is strained to the limit. Therefore, you need to adhere to the selected schedule and rely on the existing sleep norms for children by age. There is no need to mindlessly adjust to them, the main thing is to know about their existence and assess the child's condition and mood.
If the baby sleeps a lot during the day, restoring the daily rate, then his strength will resume, and the nervous system will not be overstrained. Still, don't forget about the mode. This applies not only to sleep, but also to food, walks. A daily schedule is also necessary for parents who can plan their free time.
An adult spends about a third of his life in sleep. A baby, especially a newborn, spends much more time on rest. It is extremely necessary for the baby along with proper nutrition, care and care of the parents. It is important to make sleep comfortable, to take care of creating an optimal daily routine that suits not only the baby, but also the parents.
