Maintain healthy sleep for your baby. Healthy baby sleep - simple tips for parents to your baby healthy sound sleep

Every mom wants to know if her baby is sleeping enough. Sleep-savvy moms not only want to know if their babies are getting enough hours of sleep, they want to be sure that babies have healthy sleep patterns that allow them to recover physically and emotionally, and to thrive and grow properly.

Mark Weisbluth identifies 5 elements of healthy sleep, which have the maximum recovery effect for the child. Read to the end and compare the baby's sleep with these points - now you know how full your baby's sleep is.

Total sleep duration (day + night)

Up to 3-4 months, the baby's sleep speaks of the development of his brain and most often the child sleeps as much as he needs, because biological factors affect his sleep. At the same time, the baby can sleep in almost any conditions, even with noise and light, which means that the child can be constantly with you and, wherever you are, if he needs sleep, he will fall asleep. Evening bedding at this age can be in different time, which is often caused by colic, which manifests itself especially strongly in the period from 18 to 24 hours. Babies sleep on average 16-17 hours a day, often confusing day and night.

After 4 months, the parents form the child's sleep and wakefulness regime and can influence its duration. One of the most important goals for mom and dad should be the healthy sleep that the growing baby needs.

Of course, there are occasional gaps, such as daytime sleep or later laying down may not harm the child, but if this has become a habit, then the child may become more and more capricious and uncontrollable in his overwork.

Studies have shown that cultural and ethnic differences, social variables, even various modern inventions, including televisions, computers, and others, do not affect sleep norms. Sleep rates are characteristic for each child's age and are biologically fixed.

Daytime sleep

Daytime sleep differs significantly from nighttime sleep and has rhythms independent of it. At the same time, daytime sleep leads to optimal daytime activity for learning, does not allow the child to overwork, which means that the baby will sleep better at night.

The main function of daytime sleep is to provide children with maximum REM sleep, that is, to restore them emotionally and psychologically, while night sleep to a greater extent restores physical strength.

The right time of the day during which the baby sleeps is very important. After a healthy daytime sleep, the child wakes up refreshed and the level of cortisol in his blood drops. Sleep that is too short or not synchronized with the biological rhythms of the baby will not give adequate rest, but, nevertheless, at least a short nap is better than no sleep at all. After 4 months, daytime sleep, which lasts less than one hour, cannot be "real", and most often does not bring any benefit to the baby.

Children can and should be taught the correct daytime sleep. If a child does not sleep well during the day, then he has a lower concentration of attention, they are less persistent in completing tasks, with difficulty adapt to new things, and are prone to hyperactivity.

If your little one does not sleep well during the day and you ignore early bedding, then he is suffering.

Sleep continuity

Consolidated or uninterrupted sleep is one of the important conditions for healthy sleep, that is, 11 hours of continuous sleep is not at all equal to 11 hours of sleep if the baby woke up. Fragmentation of sleep reduces its overall duration and reduces the effectiveness of restoring the physical and emotional strength of children.

In the first months of life, protective awakenings are triggered in children, which prevent sleep asphyxia, but if such awakenings continue, then they harm the child, since they violate the integrity, the continuity of sleep.

Sometimes the parents themselves make the baby's sleep unconsolidated, if the baby constantly sleeps in the stroller when moving, or when rocking in his arms, sleeping in a moving car. Such a dream is not deep, short and is not able to restore the baby's body. The best sleep is to sleep in one place, and still.

A certain number of awakenings may be normal if the child can then fall asleep on his own, and also if the baby sleeps next to his mother and breastfeeds repeatedly, in this case, both the mother and the child do not wake up completely and do not suffer from fragmentation.

The main problem in awakening children can be called the inability of the child to fall asleep on their own after waking up.

How to help your child sleep through the night: https://bit.ly/1lMDs4X

Sleeping mode

When we eat fast food, it satiates, but does not add health. The same can be said about sleep. Poor quality sleep gives us a tired and overworked child as a result, because sleep is like food for his brain. Sleep and wakefulness should be maximally synchronized with the baby's biological rhythms.

Up to six weeks, children sleep a lot and often, mothers are satisfied and happy, but now time passes and the baby is no longer so easy to put. And here, no doubt, the regime will help us. To train a four to eight month old baby to sleep well and biologically, parents must control bedtime themselves, rather than relying on a tired baby to go to bed on their own. Speaking about the mode, it is worth specifying the time:

8: 30-9: 00 - the time of the first sleep for babies up to 6 months;

12: 30-13: 00 - lunchtime sleep (this time is perfect for all children who are still sleeping during the day);

18:00-20:00 - best time to go to sleep at night.

When organizing a child's sleep schedule, many parents make the mistake of putting their baby to bed always at the same time. However, for a child, the best option is if you are flexible. If he slept badly during the day or played too actively and was tired, then shift the time of night sleep earlier. At every age, babies have their own permissible wakefulness time, knowing this moment greatly facilitates the process of laying down.

Rituals play an important role in observing the regime, because it is from them that the baby understands what awaits him now. So remember to repeat the same steps every night before your baby goes to bed. For example: quiet and relaxing games, bathing, massage, a bottle, a book in bed, and finally, sleep.

Your baby needs a day's sleep... Experts recommend maintaining healthy sleep for the baby and daytime rest up to 6-7 years old, as this improves concentration, has a beneficial effect on health (increases the body's immune properties). However, all children are different. Some of those who refuse to fall asleep during the day, “fill up” their own at night. But this is not a way out of the situation. Be patient, try to find the reason for refusing to sleep. If you can't do it yourself, contact your pediatrician. Perhaps he will recommend bathing the child in a sedative collection.
You can also transfer water procedures at an earlier daytime. During swimming and massage, the baby loses a lot of strength, gets tired and, as a result, falls asleep rather quickly. But it happens that you can't put a child to bed. And all because the energy received during useful procedures must find a way out.

If you are crumbs during sleep trying to eliminate all the noise is wrong. There should be a measure in everything. The baby, accustomed from birth to sleep in complete silence, wakes up from any noise. Of course, when the child is falling asleep, you need to turn down the volume of the TV, radio or tape recorder. But the natural sound background (creaking of the floor, doors, quiet speech) should be present during the sleep of the baby, especially during the day. And so that the baby sleeps better, put him in bed with your favorite soft toy - a fluffy bear or bunny, which you can snuggle against in a dream. The main thing is that this toy is made of safe material and does not contain small parts. This is the best "substitute" for mom during sleep. Waking up, the baby hugs his beloved bunny and makes sure that he is not alone in his bed.

Due to prolonged contact with a dummy, the baby is forming malocclusion, and an unpleasant rash around the mouth may also appear. And most importantly, as soon as the dummy falls out of the mouth in a dream, your treasure immediately wakes up and cries. You have to get up, give the baby a dummy and rock again. It is necessary to gradually wean the little one to fall asleep with a dummy. You can make the first attempt at 6-8 months - at this age, the need for sucking is somewhat weakened in children.
Try to slide afternoon nap at a later time so that the child really gets tired for the day. And the daytime wakefulness is diversified by more intense games, activities, be more outdoors: this helps to maintain healthy sleep for the baby.
In the evening, try to follow the rituals of going to bed: quiet games, bathing, a fairy tale or a lullaby for the night. You may even have to lie down with the baby. It is possible that you will need advice from a neurologist, who will most likely recommend massage and swimming. It can be invaluable to consult a homeopath who will suggest the right remedies.

Analyze how do you put the baby to bed, what is the microclimate in the room. Perhaps the air in the bedroom is too dry, so the baby's mucous membranes dry out and it is difficult for him to breathe. It is better to dress the little one in a bodysuit or "little men": they do not cause discomfort to the little one, since they do not twist and do not crumple on the back.
And, of course, one of the most important points is choosing a diaper. More than half (55%) of European mums surveyed in a recent study agreed that it is easy for a baby to sleep well by wearing comfortable diapers.

Healthy sleep child.

Healthy baby sleep is very important. He is like food, water and air. Healthy sleep of a child is a source that gives energy, strength, rest. With the help of sleep, all information received by the baby for the day is processed. Healthy sleep is the key to well-being, health and comfort.

The organization of sleep in children must be approached responsibly and deliberately. From childhood, you need to accustom your children to the daily routine, time management, proper sleep... Sleep is very closely related to other components of life: hygiene, clothing, food, walks in the fresh air and others. And who, if not parents, can control and accustom their child to healthy sleep.

REGULATIONS FOR HEALTHY SLEEP IN A CHILD

Pediatric pediatricians offer separate norms of healthy sleep for each age period in a child. This should be approached with caution, and based only on the individual characteristics of your child.

• 1 - 4 months - about 18 hours.
• 5 - 9 months - about 16 hours.
• 10 - 12 months - about 13 hours.
• 1 - 3 years - about 11 hours.
• 3 - 7 years - about 10 hours.
• After 7 years - 9 hours.

This is the average sleep rate per day. As you can see, the need for sleep depends on the age of the baby. The smaller he is, the more he needs sleep, the older - the less. But how much your child will sleep - only you choose, starting from his activity, wakefulness, energy, fatigue and individual physiological needs.

SLEEP IN A CHILD

Very often, especially in young children, sleep is disturbed. There are various reasons for this.

1. Physiological features of the baby.
2. Influence of the environment.
3. Somatic illness: ARVI, influenza, etc.
4. Neurological pathology.
5. Emotionality and activity of the child. During the day, a child may experience an overabundance of emotions. Here it is important to pay attention to the games and fun that the baby plays. Pay attention to what cartoons and books you are watching. It will not be superfluous to revise the child's day regimen.
6. The change of night and day. The process of dividing sleep into daytime and nighttime is formed only at the age of 4 months. Therefore, before this age, it is difficult for a baby to get used to falling asleep and waking up at the right time. He can stay awake at night, and sleep sweetly during the day.

Unhealthy sleep in a child affects his health, behavior, quality of life. If the child does not sleep well, then this means that he is not resting, not relaxing. Doctors say that sleep disorders lead to a delay in the growth and development of the child.

Also bad dream the baby affects not only him, but also his parents. Parents have observed: no rash, fatigue, irritation, confusion.

To avoid this, you need to be guided by the basic rules for organizing healthy sleep in a child.

Healthy sleep rules for a child

In order for the sleep to be healthy and useful for the child, you need to adhere to the basic rules

• Fresh air and ventilated area.

The air in the child's room should not be humid or stuffy. Children's leading pediatricians advise setting the temperature in the room to +18 degrees. At this temperature, it is very easy to breathe, sleep is restful, and in the morning the baby will feel good. As the long-term practice of specialists shows, at such a temperature, the baby does not open up. If you are worried that the child will freeze, then use warm and soft pajamas.

Try to pay attention to air humidity. If it is not possible to purchase a special humidifier, then place a couple of containers of water near the bed or near the battery.

• Comfortable bed.

The bed is the basis of healthy sleep for a child. It is better to purchase a bed with an orthopedic mattress. Its advantages: strength, rigidity, maintaining the position of the child. Up to 3 years old, it is better to use a towel or a very thin pillow instead of a standard pillow. The child's blanket should be light, natural, without impregnation and dyes. If there are ruffles, canopies on bed linen or cribs, then, oddly enough, these are real dust collectors. And the dust blocks the flow of fresh air.

• Lighting.

Children's room should be well lit. Since the child is here and played and engaged. But many children do not like to fall asleep in pitch darkness, so experts advise installing lamps around the perimeter of the room. The lights will create a soft light to help your baby fall asleep easily. Pay attention to the curtains in the children's room. When a child prepares for bed during the day, they can be used to create twilight. Do not forget about the cleanliness of the curtains, they should not accumulate a lot of dust, wash periodically.

• Ritual before bed.

Do the same thing every time before bed. Doing the same thing every time will be like a ritual for the baby. He will know that first you need to swim, then read a book and fall asleep. Instead of a book, you can use a lullaby or turn on slow instrumental music. After the child falls asleep, the music must be turned off. Maintain silence in the house: do not talk loudly, do not turn on loud music. Take care of the baby's sleep.

• Active day.

Spend more time outdoors, play active games. You need to spend the day in a fun, positive way. Try to avoid hysterics and crying. Set your baby in a good mood.

You need to go to bed at the same time. Before going to bed, it is advisable not to play active games, not to run or jump.

It is advisable that the child sleeps only in his crib, and not with his parents. You can choose one of your favorite toys and let your baby fall asleep with it. This will replace his mother. And also this toy will be associated with sleep.

Be sure to kiss your baby before going to bed, say good night.

If you follow these rules systematically, the baby's sleep will stabilize. The kid will get used to the regime and will fall asleep easily. Sleep will have a beneficial effect on the health of the baby, on his mood and behavior.

The main thing is to be there and support!

Babies grow quickly and spend a lot of energy on activity and cell renewal. Therefore, they need full healthy eating... All parents know about this, trying to feed their children tastier and denser. But one of the frequent complaints of parents is the problem of night sleep of babies who do not want to fit in, fall asleep for a long time and do not get a proper rest at night, especially if they need to wake up early in kindergarten or school in the morning. Often this is not due to illness or an irrational daily routine, and food products that have an exciting or stimulating effect are not nervous system, and disturbing the child's sleep. It is important to know more about them in order to make the menu more efficiently.

Good rest is vital for children

The infancy and preschool years are very eventful for both children and their parents. This is a period of continuous exploration and intense movement, exploration of the world, which also requires adequate time to recover depleted resources and rest. Adequate, adequate night's sleep is most important, as during this period the body performs most their construction and repair work, and the brain analyzes the information received during the day. Without adequate rest, children's development and behavior suffers significantly. But it is often not an easy task to put a playing child to bed in the afternoon or evening, even if he is tired and needs rest. Shouts, scandals and tantrums, falling asleep for a long time - this is familiar to many parents who grow up early and preschool age.

How much sleep do you need?

Depending on age, babies should get an average of 12-14 hours of sleep per day. However, today many children and parents face sleep problems. Babies either cannot fall asleep quickly or do not stay in a state of deep sleep for a long time, often waking up at night. While poor diet isn't the only cause of sleep problems, it can certainly play a role. big role in the normalization of the quality and quantity of sleep of a small child.

To get your baby ready for sleep, it is important to calm the brain by stimulating the proper secretion of certain neurotransmitters (substances that transmit impulses in the brain). Especially, it is important to release the neurotransmitter serotonin, the synthesis of which should be activated. This is due to the fact that having enough serotonin in the brain causes feelings of fullness, happiness, and drowsiness. Therefore, in order for children to fall asleep faster and sleep better, it is necessary to increase the synthesis of serotonin as the night approaches. Since serotonin is created from tryptophan, essential amino acid dietary intake, it is important to consume foods rich in tryptophan. Good dietary sources of the amino acid tryptophan are turkey, chicken, milk, eggs, nuts, bananas, beans, fish, and cheese.

What is important to know about "sleepy" foods?

While the intake of tryptophan is beneficial, it is important to choose the right food combination as tryptophan competes actively with other amino acids in food to gain access to the brain. If foods high in other amino acids, such as tyrosine or methionine, are consumed (such as in meat), tryptophan can enter the brain at lower concentrations. To eliminate this problem in children, it is also important to consume foods high in carbohydrates, as these will also help stimulate serotonin synthesis and increase the absorption of tryptophan from food. By consuming carbohydrates, the body will secrete insulin, and the release of this hormone will help minimize the absorption of other amino acids that compete with tryptophan. Fortunately, tryptophan is not insulin dependent. Therefore, offering children simple snacks such as whole grain crackers and cheese, oatmeal with milk, or plain banana yogurt can prepare them for bedtime soon.

Baby food, rich in calcium and magnesium, is also beneficial for improving babies' sleep. These minerals help to calm the nervous system, making it easier for babies to get to bed and sleep. Calcium can be found in dairy products, almonds, sesame seeds, leafy greens, oranges, and sardines, while magnesium can be found in seeds, nuts, and green vegetables.

It is important that children get these foods daily. A simple remedy like warm milk before bed can also be effective because it contains both calcium and tryptophan.

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Just as certain foods can help prepare babies for sleep, there are others that will interfere with falling asleep. Some of the more obvious ones are those that contain caffeine, such as soda and chocolate. Toddlers should avoid these foods completely if they have trouble sleeping.

All mothers have encountered situations when a child cannot fall asleep for a long time either during the day or in the evening, or sleeps very restlessly, constantly waking up.

Healthy sleep is very important for the development of the baby, therefore, every mother wants her child to sleep well and rest for as many hours as he needs.

How to provide your baby with a healthy and sound sleep? What does it take for a child to sleep well? Let's find out what there are 10 rules for healthy sleep crumbs.

Rule # 1 - correct mode days

By the age of one year, it is advisable to accustom the baby to a certain daily routine. Getting up, sleeping, walking, eating, staying awake, bathing, sleeping at night should occur every day at about the same time, then the baby will be mentally and physically ready for daytime and nighttime sleep, will sleep soundly and calmly.

A baby from one to three years old should sleep 12-13 hours a day , it turns out that it should last about 8-10 hours, and daytime sleep - 2-3 hours. Some children at this age sleep 2 times a day - 1-1.5 hours.

It is important that the child's day regimen is coordinated with the whole family's regimen, so that not only the baby, but also the adults can live well and calmly.

Rule # 2 - a comfortable sleeping place

When the child turns two years old, you can buy a special baby pillow for him, until that time it is more useful for the baby to sleep without a pillow.

The child must have own crib , in which he used to sleep from birth. It must be strong and safe, it must have a firm mattress, clean.

You should not hang anything extra (towels, bedspreads) on the sides of the crib, as they can accidentally fall on the child and scare him. If you want to somehow improve the children's sleeping place, it is better to purchase a special protection in a cot , which is securely attached to the sides and will definitely not fall on the baby.

When the child turns two years old, you can buy him a special one, until that time it is more useful for the baby to sleep without a pillow.

Baby pillow should be low in height, when the child lies on the pillow, his head and body should be at the same level. It is desirable that the pillow is made of elastic material so that it is breathable, washable, safe and hypoallergenic.

Rule number 3 - you can sometimes wake up the child

If your baby sleeps more than 2-3 hours during the day, this means that his night's sleep will last less than 8 hours, which is detrimental to the health of the parents. Therefore, it is recommended to wake up the baby after 2-3 hours of naps so that his night's sleep is prolonged.

After you wake up the child several times during the day, his body will get used to living in such a rhythm, and he himself will not sleep too much during the day.

Rule # 4- optimize feeding times

Between the ages of one and three, the baby does not need night feeding, it is enough to feed him well before bed and he can sleep through the night.

If your little one still wakes up at night to eat, try to reconsider their diet and feeding frequency. Your baby may be able to sleep through the night without waking up if you feed him more satisfying food at night than during the day, such as porridge. For a good appetite before bedtime, it is advisable that the baby is very hungry by the last feeding, then he will eat greedily and gorge himself.

Rule # 5 - spend your day actively

For a good sleep, the temperature in the child's room should not be more than 20 degrees, and the humidity should be within 50-70%.

In order for the baby to sleep well day and night, he must get tired, that is, waste his energy. To provide your child with good energy expenditures, spend the day actively: walk a lot (at least 3 hours a day), play outdoor games, sleep in the fresh air, help the baby to explore the world.

Rule number 6 - take care of the microclimate in the nursery

For a good sleep the temperature in the child's room should not be more than 20 degrees , and humidity should be in the range of 50-70%.

Also, do not forget about regular airing and wet cleaning. Of course, it is desirable that there are no unnecessary dust collectors in the child's room: carpets on the walls, curtains, books.

Rule # 7 - Don't Forget Bathing

Evening baby bathing in cool water is a great way for the baby to get tired and hungry, and then eat well and fall asleep until the morning. Take advantage of the swimming opportunities!

Mom-Kamila says: “For a long time, my son woke up every 2-3 hours at night to feed, of course, I wanted him to quickly learn to sleep 7-8 hours at night. I read that children begin to sleep well at night after a good evening swim, for this they need to be bathed for 20-30 minutes in cool water, about 34 degrees (of course, the temperature should be lowered gradually to this mark). I just started bathing the child, after such a swim he became very hungry, ate well and slept peacefully for 7-8 hours.