Only a few parents are lucky whose babies are star sleepers. Few often complain that our baby does not sleep easily. No one in the family sleeps when your baby doesn’t sleep.
Behind this erratic sleep habit of your newborn baby are a number of reasons, let’s catch the offenders and find their solutions.
1. Overstimulation
The brain of your baby stays more alert when he is overstimulated.
- Sleep Solution
Before bedtime try to stick to simple activities. Sing a lullaby, read story books or you can soothe him by swaddling or rocking. Lullaby (lori for baby) can be used to soothe your baby and help him to sleep easily and for a longer duration.
2. Underdeveloped Internal Clock
Babies have shorter and lighter sleep cycles than adults due to circadian rhythm that is in a formative stage. Our internal biological clock tells us when to take rest and the time to stay active. Since it is underdeveloped in babies, it is difficult for them to distinguish between day and night time. It leads to frequent sleep interruptions. Most of the babies outgrow this phase naturally by five months.
- Sleep Solution
According to a research, if you start exposing your baby to daylight in the afternoon, your child will start sleeping more at night. Start taking him out by the age of four or five months, it might help.
3. Nightmare
Although it is normal if your baby wakes up for a feed and sleep for a few hours in the day. But if a child was a sound sleeper earlier and started waking up a number of time during the night, it might be a cause of concern. When a child doesn’t sleep well even if he is well-fed and doesn’t suffer from any discomfort or illness, then a nightmare or excessive fatigue could be the reason.
- Sleep Solution
When a child suddenly awakes with an abnormal behavior, it might be a sign of nightmare. Occasional nightmare episodes are normal and you need not to worry. He will sleep on his own after some time. But you might need a doctor’s evaluation in case of multiple episodes like this in a week.
Parents should make sure that their baby sleeps at an age-appropriate time. Increase your baby’s sleep accordingly. Toddlers might experience nightmares due to over usage of screen time, which can be minimized or completely stopped to get a good sleep.
4. External Stimuli Dependence
Babies sleep on their own when their basic needs are satisfied by being comfortable and healthy food habits. Babies may forget how to soothe themselves due to various external factors. External factors hinder your child’s self-soothing ability.
- Sleep Solution
Create a calm and cozy environment that promotes self-soothing. Try not to make your little munchkin too much dependent on you or any caregiver to make him sleep.
5. Irregular Sleep Schedule
Too many naps during the daytime might snatch away your baby’s sleep during the night. Due to this baby wakes up frequently in the middle of a night.
- Sleep Solution
Minimal activity in the baby’s room, avoidance of excessive light and noise might help a child to sleep longer. Make a good routine to establish a circadian rhythm by repeating the ‘eat-play-sleep’ cycle.
Try gentle massage before bedtime and no screen time to keep the minimum stimulation. You can also shift the afternoon nap a bit earlier and cut it short so that they are sufficiently tired before the evening bedtime.
Hope these sleep solution parenting tips will help you to get rid of sleep offenders and make your baby sleep properly.
Happy Parenting!
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