In what position should a baby sleep?

How many hours a day should a newborn sleep?

Newborns spend most of their time sleeping. For a child, the time of day does not matter; he can sleep and stay awake whenever he wants. Soviet-era doctors believed that a child's sleep should be around 22 hours a day. By today's standards, normal infant sleep lasts about 17-18 hours.

But this is not an exemplary indicator, since each child is individual. When newborns sleep well and eat well, they feel great and their body temperature is normal. As children begin to grow up, they like to lead an active lifestyle, and therefore pay less attention to sleep.

What affects how long a newborn sleeps?

Your newborn should sleep well, but the following factors can affect how much sleep you get:

• family environment;
• psychophysical characteristics of the child;
• time of day activity;
• feeding.

How to get your baby to sleep healthy

In the very first weeks of a baby’s life, you need to start instilling healthy and proper sleep standards. Sometimes this is quite difficult to do, but you still need to try.

If the baby learns to fall asleep and wake up at the same time, to distinguish between day and night, then it will become much easier for him and his parents.

1. Initially, what the mother needs to do is learn to recognize the signs of baby fatigue . The first weeks of life are characterized by the fact that the baby simply physically cannot stay awake for more than two hours. Afterwards he becomes sleepy, lethargic and begins to be capricious, calling on his parents that it is time to sleep. Therefore, you need to be able to distinguish the initial signs of fatigue. Watching the baby, you can see how he begins to rub his eyes and yawn, which means that he should immediately be put in his crib. It is good if the child learns to fall asleep on his own. At the same time, the mother should be nearby. It is under no circumstances recommended to leave your baby to fall asleep alone. He may get scared, which will have a bad effect on his nervous system.
2. You need to try to explain to your child the difference between day and night . While still in their mother's belly, children sleep whenever they want. Therefore, when born, a child can behave quite actively at night, no matter how much time there is on the clock. The thing is that the baby just doesn’t understand yet that he should sleep. In the first few days, this habit is difficult to overcome. But in about two weeks you can already begin training. During the day you need to play more with the baby , do not try to reduce any sounds (telephone, washing machine, etc.). At night, the light should always be dimmed, you should not play with the baby at this time, it is better to talk in a whisper . Gradually, the baby will learn to distinguish between day and night and it will immediately become noticeable that he sleeps much more soundly.

Night sleep duration

If you start feeding your baby not according to a schedule, but on demand, then the norm for an hour's sleep can be about 8-9 hours. If the mother sleeps with the child, the sleep will be longer and more restful. This is explained by the fact that the child will feel maternal care, the smell of milk, and the familiar beat of the heart. This will also be a plus for mom, since she will be able to sleep longer and without motion sickness. Babies who sleep in their own crib sleep about 6-7 hours a night.

It's funny that during the first weeks, babies hardly hear any extraneous sounds and can easily sleep even with music on.

Often it makes no difference to babies when they sleep. Newborns should sleep both day and night. Sleep patterns should be shaped by parents. If everything is done correctly, then mothers can increase the interval between feedings at night, thereby, at the age of six months, the child will be disturbed only once a night. Under no circumstances should you interrupt your newborn's sleep in order to feed. It is better to wait until the child wakes up and wants to eat.

How many times a day should a newborn sleep and what can ensure the correct regime?

The following factors may influence proper sleep patterns:

1. Ventilation of the children's room.
2. Wet cleaning.
3. Maintaining an optimal temperature of 20-22 degrees, humidity should be 50-70 percent.
4. Daytime nap outside. If it is not possible to go outside with your child for a walk, then you can leave the stroller on the balcony. In the winter season, it is necessary to dress children warmly.
5. There is no need to rock your newborn baby if he is already sleeping.
6. Do not curtain the windows, do not be afraid of light. Car noise and muffled conversations are acceptable.
7. Carry out hygiene procedures before going to bed.
8. Do not try to put your child to bed early in the evening; you need to correctly calculate the time so that sleep returns to normal.

How many times a day should a newborn sleep? Table of decrease in sleep with the age of the child (up to one year):

• the smallest children who have not reached the age of 3 months need 10.5 night and 7.5 day sleep;
• from 3 to 5 months - you need to sleep 9 hours at night and 5 hours during the day;
• up to 8 months - rest at night increases to 10 hours, and how many hours should a newborn sleep during the day? Daytime sleep should be reduced to 4 hours;
• at 9-11 months - the same sleep time is required as for the previous age;
• By the age of one year, the sleep of a family child is reduced. During the day, a child can sleep 1-2 times for 2-2.5 hours. At night, the norm is 11 hours, and the child usually does not wake up.

As soon as a mother returns home with her newborn baby, she is immediately faced with the question of how much sleep he should have. Rarely do parents think that after the birth of a baby, the first thing they will encounter is sleepless nights. Constant motion sickness, which begins during the day and smoothly transitions to night time, the feeling that the baby does not sleep at all or sleeps exclusively with the help of his hands or mother’s breast. How much should a newborn baby sleep at 1 month of life? How can parents ease the burden of putting their baby to sleep? Let's figure it out together.

How much should a newborn baby sleep in the first month? When we talk about a small child’s sleep, we should not forget that it depends on several factors. One of the most important things to pay attention to when having trouble sleeping is your waking time. On average, a baby aged 0-30 days can be awake for 50 minutes to 1:15 hours. During this period, the mother can talk to the baby, feed him, change the diaper and put him back to sleep.

One daytime nap can last from 40 minutes to 2 hours. The total amount of daytime sleep for a month-old baby can take from 5-8 hours a day. In just a day, the child will sleep 5-8 times. But there are also babies who will sleep 1-3 hours at every waking interval. Night sleep lasts from 8-10 hours, and the child can sleep without awakening for up to 5 hours. The total daily amount of sleep for a one-month-old baby ranges from 15-19 hours per day.

Why is there such a difference in numbers?

It all depends on the individual characteristics of the child, namely: type of temperament, sensitivity, state of health. Some children can sleep significantly less than the specified norms, and I will feel great, others, on the contrary, will sleep much longer (their parents are luckier) and this will also be their physiological norm. When considering the question regarding your baby's actual need for sleep, the answer is one: observe and test. Only in this way can you understand how much a baby actually needs for proper sleep.

Why do babies need more help getting settled?

A child who has just been born has sleep problems extremely rarely. Most children spend the entire time the mother is in the hospital sleeping. They wake up to eat and then go back to their dream world. As a rule, such a sleepy state is due to the fact that childbirth is a difficult process not only for the mother, but also for the baby. The baby is trying to regain his strength before starting to explore the world and get to know his mother better.

While the baby was in the womb, the mother's body provided him with all the necessary hormones and nutrients. After a child is born, his body will need time to begin to independently produce certain hormones necessary for the proper functioning of the entire body. One of these hormones will be melatonin, which is responsible for the baby’s sleep. It is melatonin that sends a signal to the brain at the right moment and the newborn begins to feel drowsy and falls asleep.

In infants, melatonin begins to be fully produced on its own closer to 4 months. Until this time, mom and dad need to be patient and provide the right external conditions for the baby to sleep more soundly.

Another sleep problem that often occurs in newborns is when babies confuse day with night or, in other words, their circadian rhythms are disrupted. Babies begin to sleep more during the day and less at night. Disruption of circadian rhythms is due to the fact that infants in the first months of life still have a high need for REM sleep.

As soon as the child’s need for REM sleep begins to decline, circadian rhythms will begin to restore, and the baby will sleep in accordance with its biological needs. If circadian rhythms are disturbed, it is recommended to be exposed to light more often during the day. When it's time to put your baby to bed, you need to darken the bedroom to help your baby fall asleep faster.

How to create the right conditions for a one-month-old baby to sleep:

• Indoor air temperature . It is important to pay attention to this point, since infants cannot independently control their heat exchange. In the first year of life and especially in the first months, overheating should not be allowed. To do this, make sure that the air temperature is between 18-21C.
• Humidity . Small children are extremely sensitive to air humidity. If you do not keep this indicator normal, the baby’s mucous membranes may dry out or the baby may be thirsty. Which in itself will cause frequent awakenings and short sleeps. The minimum air humidity in the bedroom where the baby sleeps should be between 50% -70%.
• Cloth . The pajamas in which the baby sleeps should be made of natural materials. Make sure your child is dressed according to the room temperature. Sleepwear should not be small or too large so that the baby does not get entangled in it.
• Darkness . During the daytime and at night it is necessary to darken the room. This is necessary so that the hormone melatonin begins to be produced, and the baby can fall asleep faster. To do this, purchase blackout curtains, blinds, or hang dark fabric on the windows.

To check all the points, download the “COMFORT AND SLEEP” CHECKLIST for free. Go point by point. Create all the conditions so that your baby sleeps soundly and peacefully.

What can you do to help your newborn baby sleep better at 1 month:

• Swaddle your baby . This way, he will quickly fall asleep and will not be able to wake himself up with his arms or legs.
• Turn on white noise for all your dreams . The sounds of “white noise” are very familiar to children, they remind them of the noise that they listened to all 9 months when they were in their mother’s tummy. White noise can not only mask household noises, but can also quickly calm the baby down if he starts crying.
• Use a lounge chair or rocking center . Both of these gadgets work effectively and help mom free her hands. In the first months, you don’t have to worry about your baby developing a bad habit of motion sickness. Calm and put to sleep in any way that works.
• Feed the baby . Give your baby a breast or a bottle before bed and you will see how quickly your baby will fall asleep.
• Check the diaper . Very often, a newborn cannot sleep because of a dirty diaper. Make it a rule to always check it before putting it down.
• Ritual . Develop your own individual sleep ritual. Spend it on all the baby's dreams. Thus, soon the baby will begin to understand that if you have begun to carry out certain actions, it means that he will sleep soon.

If you have tried all the above recommendations, but your child still does not sleep well, often wakes up at night and requires constant rocking. In the course “BABY’S SLEEP MOM IN RESOURCE (+SZ)” Tatyana Kremneva, together with her team of sleep consultants, will help you improve your baby’s sleep. The course also includes a psychologist who will help the mother work with hidden benefits, as well as understand how the mother’s condition affects the child’s sleep. In addition, Tatyana Kremneva maintains a page on Instagram, where you can find a lot of information regarding children’s sleep, as well as read reviews about the course.

In the first month of life, it is very difficult to establish a daily routine for the baby. But based on approximate numbers, you can try to make your day more predictable.

Author: Tatyana Kremneva.

Physiology of sleep

Most parents are familiar with the following situations: in some families the baby wakes up immediately, as soon as he is transferred to the crib; For others, the child sleeps only in their arms; Often parents have to rock/pump him in a stroller so that the baby can sleep longer.

And there are children who generally sleep for 20-30-45 minutes and cannot continue sleeping further, although “it is clear that they want to continue sleeping, but cannot fall asleep.” What is the reason? In understanding the structure and physiology of children's sleep.

Sleep functions

Healthy, quality sleep for a young child is a priority along with nutrition and development. During the first two years, the baby sleeps on average almost 10,000 hours (about 14 months) and is awake for about 7,500 hours (about 10 months). Why is it so important for a mother to organize quality sleep for her baby?

• Child brain development and growth: Sleep is believed to be a major brain activity in the early years of life. Children's sleep is characterized by a higher proportion of REM sleep (compared to adult sleep), during which dreams provide visual images to the child's developing brain, thereby stimulating brain growth.
• Restoration of strength and accumulation of energy: one of the main functions of sleep is anabolic (storage), bringing a feeling of physical rest, allowing the accumulation of energy potential. For what? Learn to happily roll over, sit down, crawl, stand up!
• Memory and attention: it is sleep that helps a child learn new knowledge and skills and consolidate them. This complexly organized process involves the functions of attention, memory, systematization and many others.

• Psychological protection: sleep helps relieve colossal psycho-emotional stress accumulated during wakefulness.
• Growth and development of the body: scientists have found that growth hormone (somatotropic hormone) is secreted in the most significant quantities (80%) in the first two hours of sleep.
• Strengthening the immune system: Research shows that in case of infectious diseases, the body recovers during deep sleep. At this time, the immune system is “charged”.
• Mood: good sleep sets a positive vector for the whole day. All parents know this.