Baby sleeps poorly at night and during the day, sleep disorder | Sleep disturbance in an infant under one year of age: what to do

What is sleep?

Sleep is a vital state of the body, in which the body “does not respond” to the effects of environmental noise and signals. Simply put, sleep is the body’s rest, which is especially necessary in the first months of a person’s life. Sleep, both in an adult and in an infant, is a combination of alternating “fast” and “slow” phases, which are combined into cycles. The duration of one cycle is on average 1.5 hours. In a healthy adult, approximately 4-6 cycles usually occur per night. About 80% of the total duration occurs in so-called “slow” sleep, 20% in “fast” sleep. [1]

Features of children's sleep

The structure of children's sleep differs from that of adults. For example, in the first months of life, REM sleep accounts for more than half of its total duration. A baby's sleep begins with the "rapid" sleep phase, while in an adult it begins with the "slow" sleep phase. The distribution of time will also vary: for example, in newborns, the total sleep time is distributed equally between day and night; by one year of life, night sleep becomes predominant; by the age of 4, most children no longer feel the need for daytime sleep. [2]

According to official statistics, on average, each newborn spends about 18 hours a day sleeping. If a newborn baby does not sleep well, this can have a detrimental effect on his health and behavior. In the first half of the year, for good health, the baby needs at least 14 hours of sleep per day, however, the normal duration can vary from 11.4 to 16.5 hours. Gradually, the need for sleep in infants decreases, which is associated with the development of the nervous system, and a child aged 4 years needs about 12 hours of rest per day.

Ensuring quality and regular sleep is very important for the life and further development of the baby. The release of the so-called growth hormone - melatonin - occurs in children mainly in the stage of deep sleep; processing information and entering it into memory occurs in a dream - which is important in the first months of a person’s life. [3]

Short naps: how to prolong your child's sleep

Inability to independently navigate the transition from one sleep cycle to another

At any age, sleep is cyclical. By four months, a baby’s sleep becomes close in composition to an adult’s sleep, that is, it contains the same stages. The stage of falling asleep passes into superficial sleep, which in turn gives way to deep sleep, during which all body systems rest and “reboot”, then comes the turn of REM sleep, when the brain actively processes information and the baby dreams. After the cycle is completed, the child wakes up completely or partially. Then the cycle repeats.

However, the duration of each complete sleep cycle is shorter in children than in adults. Each cycle lasts 40–60 minutes. To help your child overcome this barrier without waking up, watch him. In a few days you will know in advance when approximately your baby is likely to wake up.

Your main task is to be there on time. As soon as you see the first signs of awakening, try to quickly return the baby to a sleepy state. The sooner measures to prolong sleep are taken, the better they will work.

Unconscious encouragement of awakenings by parents

The child wakes up when you encourage awakening with interaction on your part. If you change the conditions for falling asleep during sleep, checking their compliance becomes the cause of sleep fragmentation, and your actions to prolong it become a stimulus for awakening.

For example, if you put your child to sleep in a crib, and after waking up at night, take him to your bed, you have encouraged awakening, as a result of which the wake-up time at night will shift earlier and earlier, sleep will be fragmented and shortened.

Children live according to the principle of cycles and get used to monotonous and repetitive actions. After 8 weeks of PDD, they are able to establish cause-and-effect relationships and can understand what actions lead to interactions. Be predictable and consistent, use uniform rituals for falling asleep, try to be understandable to the baby.

Genetic features

All children are different. Each has its own characteristics. This is also true for leisure needs. For some children, it is enough to sleep twice a day, for 1 hour, and fully spend all their waking hours, waiting for the next sleep period. Some people need much more time to get enough sleep.

The following guidelines will help you understand that a short rest is enough for your child:

Make sure that the time for sleep is chosen correctly, and the baby does not have time to get overtired.
Pay attention to the speed of falling asleep and behavior during it: for every person, child and adult, it is absolutely natural to fall asleep calmly within 15–20 minutes.
The baby's behavior at 16:00 in the evening is slightly different from what it was in the morning. The baby is accommodating, feels good, is calm, and is not overly capricious.

If you managed to get rid of your baby’s short daytime naps, and the duration of each morning and afternoon nap (except for the third) is at least 1 hour, then you are doing everything right, and your baby gets enough rest for full development and active activity.

A rested baby is a happy baby!

Author: Olga Snegovskaya, Certified Children's Sleep Consultant.

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Childhood sleep disorders

Insomnia in infants is a common phenomenon in pediatric practice. About 84% of parents regularly face the problem of sleep disturbances in their infants! Do not panic - healthy children under one year of age are characterized by frequent awakenings during sleep. This is natural: for the first six months of life, the baby does not sleep well at night and can wake up more than 3 times, which is due to the peculiarities of the structure of children's sleep. In the “fast” phase, which in babies prevails over the “slow” one, the threshold for awakening is extremely low. Statistics show that sleep disorders associated with waking up 2-3 times at night occur in every third child under one year of age. In the second year of life, the number of children waking up frequently at night decreases; at 3-4 years old, only 10% of children wake up several times at night. [4]

Sleep disturbance in a newborn is often associated with colic. Colic occurs in every fifth baby under 4 months of age and is manifested by restlessness, crying, screaming, more often in the evening hours. The cause of colic is the immaturity of the children's gastrointestinal tract. The discomfort and pain that occurs during this often lead to insomnia in infants.

Sleep disorder in an infant can also be caused by an allergy to cow's milk protein, which is part of dry nutritional formulas. The symptoms of this disease are very similar to colic, so identifying the real cause can be quite difficult. With an allergy to milk protein, the baby does not sleep, cries, becomes capricious and unhappy. Waking up more than 5 times a night, reducing the duration of sleep per day to 4-5 hours are typical manifestations in this case. The disease can be diagnosed using allergy tests. [5]

The most common in childhood are the so-called insomnias - regularly recurring disturbances in the duration and quality of sleep that occur despite the availability of suitable conditions and time. Insomnia can be behavioral, secondary and adaptive.

The first type of sleep disorder – behavioral – is characterized by problems in the child’s behavior when going to bed. The cause of insomnia in such infants is often the occurrence of incorrect sleep habits. The baby may get used to rocking in the crib, stroking when going to bed, falling asleep with a bottle or pacifier, and become capricious in the absence of the usual “stimulus.” Behavioral insomnia in infants can also occur in cases where parents do not establish a clear sleep schedule and time, and the place of bed varies from day to day.

The cause of sleep disorders in a baby who sleeps poorly can also be diseases of various types. In this case, so-called secondary insomnia develops - that is, sleep is disrupted due to disturbances in the body. Diseases can be congenital (for example, disorders of the nervous system), or acquired, temporary (ARVI, pain during teething, otitis media).

Sleep disturbances may also be associated with adaptation. When the environment changes (for example, when moving), separation from the mother, or changes in any external causes, sleep disturbances also occur.

One of the most dangerous sleep disorders in infancy is temporary cessation of breathing (or apnea) that lasts more than 10 seconds. The disorder occurs on average in 1-2% of children. An alarm bell is a child’s night snoring (more than 5 attacks per hour of sleep), especially if it repeats regularly in sleep! Sleep apnea requires contacting a specialist who can confirm or refute the diagnosis in a special pediatric laboratory. [6]

“My child does not sleep during the day for more than 30 minutes! Help!". Do short naps harm a baby?

In some cases it is absolutely normal. But there are situations when short dreams need correction.

The reference point is the child’s condition.

If the baby sleeps for 30–40 minutes, and is cheerful and cheerful, everything is fine!

If your child is cheerful and cheerful, and you read in Mark Weissbluth’s book “Healthy Sleep, Happy Children” that short naps slow down his development, know that Weissbluth’s theory has been refuted by a study by psychologists from Oxford University on the relationship between daytime sleep and child development. (Frequent daytime naps predict vocabulary growth in early childhood, Klára Horváth and Kim Plunkett).

They found that not only the total amount of sleep was important, but also the number of dreams: children who slept more often during the day than their peers had a more extensive vocabulary a few months later.

Short sleeps can be considered a problem only if the child is constantly capricious, gets tired quickly and begins to have trouble sleeping at night.

And now more details.

Until about three months, the concept of “short sleeps” exists only as a fact: yes, the child sleeps for 30 minutes. No problem.

In the first months of life, a child has every right to sleep in short naps.

This is especially noticeable if the baby is breastfed: dozing on the chest during feeding is also a dream! And if the mother is worried that the baby is only dozing on the chest, but she does not see how he sleeps during the day in a stroller or crib, then he simply gets enough sleep during these short periods of napping!

Until about six months, the baby has every right to sleep for 30–40 minutes, if certain conditions are met:

The child is in a good mood.

The child maintains wakefulness according to his age without over-time.

The baby falls asleep quickly and without hysterics.

The baby sleeps well at night, waking up only for feedings.

The night lasts 11–13 hours.

There are no night festivities and early morning rises (until six in the morning).

There are no “sleep” days when the child suddenly sleeps much more than usual.

The baby sleeps short naps in any conditions - in a stroller, in a car - and this has been the case since birth.

After six months, you can add to these conditions: the baby has the ability to fall asleep on his own.

If all these points are observed, parents only need to create conditions for healthy sleep, ensure relaxation, know the norms of wakefulness and sleep, and when the baby has clear two sleep patterns, short dreams become a thing of the past.

What if they don’t leave?

We are looking for reasons!

No relaxation before bed. The child over-walks and gets overexcited before bedtime.

Baby's age, stage of development. During the peaks of developmental leaps, children sleep in short naps, but this lasts seven to ten days. During the regression of four months, children also sleep in short naps; it lasts a month and a half. Dreams can become short when it’s time for the baby to lose excess sleep.

The child does not have optimal sleep conditions. Biologically, sleeping during the day is much more difficult. Everything gets in the way. This must be taken into account and those factors that especially irritate your child should be removed.

Physical discomfort. The baby sleeps while the sleep pressure is strong, then the discomfort makes itself felt and wakes him up.

Long night's sleep with few awakenings. If you're having good nights, decide what's best for you: a long nap during the day or a long nap at night?

Short waking time. Below the age norm. Mothers often make one mistake: they do their best to prolong short sleep and do their best to reduce the time they are awake. But to get away from short sleeps, you first need to bring your waking time in line with age norms.

Chronic fatigue. Difficult nights, short, moody waking hours, falling asleep with tears. These are signs of accumulated fatigue. And short dreams are a consequence here.

Very late bedtime. The logic is simple: late bedtime leads to the need to take extra naps during the day. Which ultimately disrupts the rhythm of the child’s day.

Microdreams. If the baby takes a 15-minute nap in the stroller and car, this reduces his need for long-term sleep.

The skill of falling asleep independently. If you have already adjusted the regime, debugged everything that is possible, but the child still sleeps in short naps and is not in the mood, it is worth using “heavy artillery” - teaching self-sleep. Then the baby will connect sleep cycles on his own, sleep longer and without your help.

Genetics. Indeed, there are children who are genetically predisposed to less sleep, but feel great about it. But this is still a rarity and an exception to the rule.

We look at each of these reasons very carefully in our professional sleep consultant blog.

If you understand and eliminate the reason for your baby's short sleeps, everything will work out on its own. But sometimes a child needs help.

Recreate the conditions for falling asleep. Be there and start doing what you did at bedtime if the baby wakes up.

“Wake me up.” Just before the end of the sleep cycle, move your baby gently and immediately help him move into a new sleep cycle.

These methods should be used for three to seven days. Then the baby will learn to connect cycles and phases of sleep.

These methods will NOT work if short sleep is a physiological phenomenon.

The anti-method of prolonging sleep is called “quiet hour”. And it implies the “let me yell” method.

When waking up, the child remains in bed until 60 minutes have passed since the start of sleep. Adherents of tearful methods of working with sleep say that, of course, the baby will cry for the first couple of weeks, but then the problem will be solved.

In our opinion, it is unacceptable to leave a baby to cry alone in a crib. We strongly advise against using this method of extending daytime sleep.

And finally... Sooner or later, short dreams will become a passed stage for you in the life of a child. Same as refusing broccoli and aversion to the potty.

The main thing is to go through this stage with love for the child and yourself.