Causes of poor sleep in infants. Why does a newborn sleep poorly, and how to deal with it?

Introduction

Baby sleep and newborn sleep patterns are very popular topics among mothers. Indeed, the statistics of queries in Yandex on this topic: “A one-month-old baby is not sleeping well, what should I do?” , “A month-old baby doesn’t sleep”, “A month-old baby doesn’t sleep well”, “How should a month-old baby sleep?”, “Why doesn’t a month-old baby sleep or often wakes up?”, “A month-old baby doesn’t sleep at night”, etc. numbers in the thousands.

I will say right away that I am not a specialist in sleep disorders in newborn infants, so I do not claim to be an expert. I am a loving mother who really wanted to help my baby not wake up every hour and make my baby sleep peacefully. I just want to share my experience and really hope that it will be useful.

My situation.

I’ll describe it briefly, maybe your situation is similar to mine and it will be easier for you that you are not alone.

The birth of the first child was successful. A good maternity hospital, the newborn’s Apgar score is 9-10. The child is healthy. Everything is fine, with some exceptions... my restless child, in my understanding, does not rest (baby rest for me: he ate, fell asleep and sleeps for 3-4 hours before the next feeding), constantly screams, cries, demands the breast and “hangs” on it for hours. As soon as I put him, seemingly asleep, in his crib, he screams and smacks again, demanding the breast, and so on CONSTANTLY!

I couldn't do anything. NOTHING! Even brush your teeth and eat. I was NOT READY for this! HONESTLY!

Like many mothers, after reading articles about the sleep norms of a newborn baby and learning that a newborn sleeps most of the day, I grabbed my head, because my baby slept not 20-22 hours, but 8-10 hours a day! My baby woke up every half hour or hour and cried a lot.

When I asked a neonatologist (a specialist in newborns) about why my baby sleeps so little and wakes up often and how much he should sleep at his age, the specialist answered that there is no such thing that a child sleeps little, there is a concept that parents sleep little.

Yes, I agree that it’s not enough, and I agree that the norms are average and all babies are individual, but it shouldn’t be that the baby wakes up every half hour and asks for the breast. Where is proper sleep and rest for a child? After all Sleep deficiency is dangerous for a child's body.Due to constant lack of sleep, many organs and systems become unbalanced; the child experiences a deficiency of many enzymes and hormones that are produced precisely during sleep. Therefore, the task of improving sleep became paramount for me.

When my baby slept for 1.5 hours at night, I was happy. If the mothers with whom we walked in the yard said how much their babies sleep at night (5-6 hours of continuous sleep at night), I was honestly jealous, despite this feeling. It was hard for me.

Due to the fact that I was nervous and practically did not sleep, because... I just didn’t have time to fall asleep, the child woke me up again and again to eat, and milk began to disappear, which was already not enough. About how I restored lactation in my next post (in preparation).

I was on the verge of a breakdown! Lack of sleep, holding a baby all day, literally spoon-feeding me, as soon as I remove the breast and the baby cries... I wanted to solve this issue and I began to look for options.

While I spent hours breastfeeding my baby, I simultaneously studied various sources, read books, and asked advice from similar mothers “for better or worse.” I understood that healthy sleep is very important for a child’s development; the striking deviation from the norm for children’s sleep made me wonder, is everything okay with my baby? And how can I help the baby and myself in this situation? So...

Causes of restless sleep in infants and possible solutions

or “13 T” for loving mothers

1. Injuries. If your child sleeps poorly and wakes up frequently, as in my case, it is important to find the reason. To be honest, we did not identify the reason in time. My experience in this matter was not enough and, unfortunately, we did not find an experienced specialist. All routine examinations revealed nothing. There was no response to my pain and I accepted this as the norm.

I learned that we had a rotational subluxation of the first vertebra of Atlanta (birth injury) at the age of 6, when my child, despite long sessions with a speech therapist, could not hear the sound “R”. It is with this diagnosis that a violation of the venous outflow can be observed, which provokes an increase in intracranial pressure, headaches, tinnitus, pain in the back and shoulders, tearfulness, poor and restless sleep in the baby, tense muscles, cramps, regurgitation after feeding. It was practically all about us. Fortunately, the speech therapist was a guru in his field and referred us to an experienced neurologist, who found the reason for our poor speaking and sensitive sleep in infancy. Before this, no doctor had diagnosed anything like this. The question “why?” remains unanswered. Therefore, look for a specialist who will prescribe the necessary procedures for you, and the sooner the better. In the future, you will avoid many problems (for example, flat feet, inattention, etc.). By the way, later, talking with a breastfeeding specialist and remembering the fact that the baby was hanging on the chest for hours, I learned that in this way nature helps to correct injuries, the baby actively and a lot sucks on the breast in order to bring his body to a comfortable state.

2. Silence. Create silence. In a newborn baby, the phase of shallow sleep lasts longer than the phase of deep sleep; this mechanism is provided by nature itself so that in case of danger the baby can easily wake up and scream for help. As brain structures mature, the deep sleep phase increases and the child begins to sleep more soundly and does not wake up often. These features should be taken into account and try, if possible, to eliminate loud and harsh sounds near the sleeping toddler.

For children who sleep restlessly, it is important to create a competent bedtime atmosphere. After all, in children, the processes of nervous excitation prevail over the processes of inhibition. No TVs, home scandals, bright lights, etc. The room where the baby sleeps lightly should be quiet, period. We don’t listen to any talk about someone’s baby sleeping with noise. Let someone else sleep, but you have your own special baby and your task is to create for him the conditions for proper rest.

3. Darkness. An important condition for sleep. The sleep hormone melatonin is produced in the dark. Let there be thick curtains in the room. No night lights.

4. Warm bath before bed. Helped my baby calm down and relax his muscles. But for some, taking a bath can be an exciting moment. Watch.

5. Warm mother's hands, lightly stroking the baby's back. A light massage soothes, lulls and relaxes muscles.

6. A three-hour walk in a stroller in the fresh air in any weather. My child slept perfectly in a stroller in nature, while you walk, the child sleeps. For me, children's sleep is valuable and we walked a lot and for a long time. Therefore, if a walk helps your baby sleep, go for a walk.

7. Warm and filling food. Mother's milk or formula. The child must be full. If a child is hungry, he will not sleep soundly. If you are breastfeeding, remember that he only gets full when he lets go of the breast. When my child was full, he could sleep for 1.5 hours. For me it was a fairy tale, honestly.

8. Temperature and humidity in the room. It seems to be a truth that has already set teeth on edge, but it is rarely observed by parents, and how important it is for proper sleep. Therefore, I will dwell on this issue in more detail. A little science to understand why all this is needed.

The infant has imperfect mechanisms for regulating body temperature. Metabolism proceeds very intensively, accompanied by the production of a significant amount of heat. And it is important for the baby’s body to get rid of this heat either through the lungs or through the skin. If T air temperature in the room higher 18-19 degrees, then heat loss is noticeably reduced. It’s important to lose heat! Therefore, the baby loses it through the skin, forming sweat, with which water and salts are lost, and the newborn’s reserves of both are very small. Even with a slight lack of fluid, the functioning of all systems and organs is significantly disrupted. Diaper rash appears, the baby is swollen and his tummy hurts (thick intestinal juices due to lack of fluid are difficult to digest food), a feeling of thirst quickly sets in (the baby wakes up and asks for a drink), thrush appears in the mouth due to thick saliva, due to lack of fluid, it does not perform its functions, there are dry crusts in the nose, making breathing difficult (sometimes the baby cannot even suck), a feeling of “sand” in the nasopharynx, etc. And all this leads to the baby’s restless sleep. Therefore, the temperature in the children's room should be above 18-19 degrees, there should be no feeling of lack of fresh air in the room, and the baby's clothes should be light. It is important that there is enough fluid in the baby’s body. Relative humidity. The drier the inhaled air, the more fluid the child’s body spends to hydrate it, and I wrote above what additional water losses lead to. The optimal relative humidity in a children's room is 50-70%.

All kinds of air humidifiers can help you here. Humidifiers that create “cold fog”, such as an ultrasonic humidifier, are extremely helpful. Ramili Baby AH 770 compact and quiet, as well as wet cleaning, open containers with water, etc. Before going to bed, be sure to ventilate the children's room.

9. Anxiety away. It is important for mom to be calm. Here, use any calming techniques that are acceptable to you and safe for the child. Try to find time for them. Involve your family. Your condition is very important, first of all, for yourself. A tired and nervous mother will not be able to give warmth, love and restful sleep to her baby. We can only give what we have.

10. Something is bothering the child. The baby is very small and cannot explain that he has a headache, tummy, throat or something else. He's just crying loudly! Find out and eliminate the cause. The cause may be a damp diaper, because... feces and urine are a thermonuclear mixture for delicate baby skin. The cause may be itching caused by the baby's allergy to something. Observe, connect all your love and maternal intuition and you will definitely find the reason.

11. Creative musical compositions To help you. Find soothing sleep music for newborns. For some it is the music of W. Mozart, for others the sounds of nature, the sound of rain or birdsong, for some white noise helps. My son was calmed by the composition Eros Ramazzotti and Cher Piu Che Poi. I recommended it to many of my friends with restless children, who thanked me for such a discovery. My loud son was silent even when I dressed him for a walk. Seek and you will find. Music to the rescue.

12. Just breasts or still a pacifier? It's up to you to decide. I was a clear opponent of nipples, because... The doctors scared me that the child would develop an abnormal bite, and I, as a loving mother who does a lot according to science, listened to them. As a result, my anxious son held his breast for hours and was the only way he could sleep for 2 hours in my arms. As soon as I quietly removed my breasts, he woke up. I gave the pacifier after 1 month and my son became much calmer and began to sleep better, but it was already too late, the baby did not suck the pacifier for a long time, as well as the bottle with the mixture. With a pacifier he would be calmer and sleep better, that's a fact... It's up to you to decide what to do. The bite will be fine if you do not use the pacifier for a long time. Who would have said this earlier...

13. Patience, a great desire to help the baby. Every child and situation is different. I noticed a peculiarity in my child: in order to fall asleep again, he needs to create the same situation when he fell asleep and fell asleep. For example, when my son, falling asleep, sucked the breast, then when he woke up, he looked for it again in order to fall asleep. Therefore, I slept with him so that I could get enough sleep myself and give him what he loves so much in time, before the baby had time to scream. One day I managed to move my son to his crib and he woke up in a new place, and not in my arms. His cry was so indignant that it took me much longer to calm down. This is where my experiments with separate sleeping ended.

You have your own path and your own effective recipes. Listen to your maternal intuition and sincerely want to help your baby. You will definitely find the reasons for your baby's restless sleep and ways to make his sleep healthy. Remember that all difficulties are temporary.

Happy mother Olga.

Most children experience insomnia; newborns often wake up at night and begin to cry loudly. Sleep disturbances in infants negatively affect well-being while awake. Below is information on how you can deal with this problem.

Babies are not born with a set daily routine. Only parents determine the time for sleep and wakefulness. Babies under 1 year old get enough sleep 3 to 5 times a day, the duration of sleep depends on age. Children under 3 months should get at least 2-2.5 hours of sleep at a time. Over the years, the baby no longer sleeps 3-5 times a day, but the duration of rest increases.

The development of the newborn and the functioning of his psyche depend on this. Newborns who are not accustomed to regular sleep-wake cycles do not grow well. The problem may also lie in too much rest. Situations often arise when parents organize conditions for their babies when they sleep a lot. Therefore, difficulties arise with night sleep.

During this period, intensive secretion of growth hormones occurs, biologically active components stimulate the acceleration of the central nervous system, the entire body rests, and the information learned during the day is processed. Night sleep is necessary for every living person. Therefore, you need to follow the correct regime.

Temperament of a newborn

The duration of rest is determined by the individual needs of the baby. Restless, active children sleep less, constantly fidget, wake up and cry. There is no need to immediately blame everything on temperament. There are other factors that provoke deterioration of sleep: teeth are cutting, the baby sleeps too much, colic begins in the stomach.

In the absence of physiological disorders, you should try to regulate your sleep schedule and increase the duration of sleep if necessary.

Unfavorable living environment

If conflict situations constantly arise in the family, this affects adults and children. You need to walk outside more often and avoid domestic conflicts. Quarrels often arise due to fatigue. Experts recommend relaxing on your own and changing your environment more often.

Effect of age

Sleep problems in children may be due to age-related factors. Children under 1 year of age often experience shallow sleep; babies wake up and fall asleep without outside help. WITH experts advise parents to try to fall asleep with their children.

Such children are less capricious and show more calm. They don't try to attract attention by being whiny. To sleep together, it is better to use a large number of pillows and try not to put your own body pressure on the baby.

Emotional overload

Many parents say that for six months after birth the baby slept wonderfully, and then began to wake up and often cry and crawl. In reality this is a normal process. Starting from this age, a newborn constantly masters new information, learns to control his own body, and surrounding objects evoke emotions in him.

At night, all experience is analyzed, assimilated, all details are processed and remembered. Therefore, a sleeping baby often crawls, cries, etc. If he is cheerful during the daytime and has no symptoms of illness, it means he is sleeping well, and there is no need to interfere with this condition.

The same can be said about the baby's shuddering during sleep. Parents are constantly frightened by this phenomenon and think that the newborn is sick. Similar processes occur in the nervous system during REM sleep. This phase occurs once or with renewed contractions of muscle tissue or the body. They often occur in the first period of life in children with increased excitability or after an emotional shock.

Often at night, children sob and begin to cry. All this happens due to an excess of emotions during the day and evening.

In such a situation, it is better to reconsider the children's daily routine, allocating time for games and increased physical activity so that overstimulation of the nerve centers does not occur.

Bad feeling

The baby's sleep is determined by his state of health. If he has a stomach ache or is teething, he becomes restless, tearful, and often wakes up. A similar reaction is provoked by uncomfortable clothing when elastic bands, seams or ropes rub against the baby.

Getting rid of such sleep problems is not difficult. It is advisable to maintain normal room temperature and humidity levels. If it is not possible to reproduce the optimal microclimate in the room, you will have to at least periodically ventilate it.

Why do one-year-old children have problems sleeping? During this period, babies get 13-14 hours of sleep per day. Therefore, they sleep poorly at night and lack physical activity.

If problems appear in children aged 1.5 to 2 years, the baby becomes capricious, refuses to sleep, and tries to prove his own independence and ability to make decisions. During this period, you need to take a nap during the day.

At 2-3 years old, the baby constantly wakes up at night. Behavior can be affected by an age crisis, in which independence, constant denial and a lot of negativity are manifested. During this period, children go to kindergarten for the first time. This process does not happen safely in most cases. Parents should show patience, understanding, and love for their child during a difficult period in life.

Age from 3 to 6 years

For what reason does a child have poor sleep between the ages of 3 and 6 years? There are several reasons for this. Often experiences are caused by moving to another room or changing sleeping place. If a child is woken up in the morning to get ready for kindergarten, he needs to be put to bed earlier in the evening.

There are many reasons why a baby does not sleep well at night and often wakes up. Problems may differ among children of the same age. The quality of sleep deteriorates in children for various reasons. Parents need to be vigilant, identify fatigue to ensure a suitable schedule, and the child needs to get enough sleep.

If children are in a good mood during the day, it means they got enough sleep at night and can show physical activity and curiosity while awake. After rest, kids want to explore the environment, study everything that is around them, successful development is ensured, and the age crisis is tolerated without stress.

At different ages, we must not forget about the importance of sleep during the day. Such rest must be provided to children under 3 years of age. It is better to maintain this habit until the age of 7. At the same time, the body receives physical and intellectual rest. If you refuse to sleep, you need to constantly stay in bed. You can also benefit from quiet time.

Delayed sleep maturation

A similar disorder occurs in children under 4 months of age due to temperament, poor heredity, and central nervous system disorders. When the child wakes up, you need to take him in your arms, try to calm him down, it is not advisable to lift him from his sleeping place. The frequency of feeding should be clearly defined.

Parents' mistakes

Sometimes parents themselves provoke untimely awakenings of children, make mistakes when putting them to bed or when the baby wakes up. It is necessary to remove the pacifier when the baby goes to bed; it is not advisable to rock the baby to sleep. You need to teach your newborn to fall asleep on his own.

If your child wakes up early in the morning

Kids sometimes wake up at 5-6 in the morning. Few people are happy with this habit. This can happen if your baby goes to bed too early or if he wakes up because his diaper needs to be changed. You should not introduce your baby to feeding at this time..

Feeding at night

Often parents independently teach their baby to eat at night, so he wakes up and asks for food. It is necessary to take into account the needs of the newborn and feed when he needs it. But you still need to try to establish a regime a couple of months after birth. To help your child sleep at night, train him by gradually reducing the number of meals and their duration.

What procedures can be performed?

To treat insomnia in infants, doctors recommend performing several procedures. It all depends on the problems the parents face. Let's list the main ones:

• The child does not fall asleep for a long time.
• He constantly wakes up at night and his sleep is shallow.
• Many people stay awake at night and fall asleep in the morning.

If the condition is provoked by somatic disorders or infection, such measures can be taken. Feeding and sleeping should occur at the same time every day. Go out into the fresh air with your child 2 hours before going to bed.

Provide a calm environment for the child before going to bed at night, turn on music in the bedroom, and sing something soothing. Massage, bath with medicinal herbs with sedative properties.

You should not overfeed your baby before bedtime. Do not give coffee, tea. In this case, the baby should always be full; the formula can be used if breast milk is not enough.

It is not advisable to accustom your baby to night feeding. It is better to give him a bottle of healthy liquid. It is advisable to ventilate the room and provide wet cleaning. Throughout the day, children do not need to be overexcited, overload themselves with information, or experience stress. You cannot watch TV before going to bed, or use mobile devices or digital equipment. You cannot teach a child to sleep in his parents' bed.

For colic, doctors often advise placing the baby on his stomach on a hard base so that gases can pass away better. After eating, hold the baby in an upright position and wait for a burp. You can drink dill water, which eliminates flatulence and has a sedative effect.

When the nose is blocked, the cavity is cleared of mucus and crusts, cleaning is done regularly. When your ears hurt, you need to use compresses with camphor oil. If diaper rash occurs, the genitals are washed with water with the addition of herbs with a disinfectant effect, string, chamomile. Newborns are advised to use antiallergic ointments and creams.

If the above recommendations do not give results, you can use these instructions. Prepare a herbal decoction to relieve nervous tension. Mint, lemon balm, valerian, chamomile are used. The ingredients are infused like tea for 15 minutes, then filtered. Drink 1 tea each for babies and parents. lie in a day.

Acupressure to relax muscles. They teach the correct technique in special courses. Older babies can do calming exercises. .

Sleeping pills are contraindicated for newborns. The drugs contain toxins that negatively affect the condition of the baby’s brain; the consequences can be disastrous.

Special products for newborns are not developed. Combination medications with extracts of beneficial herbs are not prescribed to babies under one year of age. No medications should be given to children without prior advice from a doctor. The effectiveness of the drug will be assessed, probable adverse reactions will also be clarified, and the optimal dosage and duration of treatment will be calculated.

The baby was born! These words sound like a charming song in the ears of young parents. There are still no fears or suspicions about possible problems. The day of discharge from the maternity hospital comes. Each baby goes to his first place of residence. And oh the horror!!! The first night... the second... the third... The baby is not sleeping well.

There are many reasons for poor sleep in infants.

What happens in a dream and what to do? Why does my baby sleep poorly? Natural questions arise in the minds of mothers and fathers. And if the baby is still an infant - the first-born, then even more questions arise.

Cold, sweaty, wet diaper, too noisy, just tired of sleeping, likes to eat after a certain time, or, conversely, eating erratically - these are just a few of the reasons why a baby does not sleep well at night.

Sleep and developmental physiology

Every little person who has just been born sleeps for most of the day. A full-term baby, born without pathologies, sleeps 17-18 hours (in the first months). And a premature baby spends up to 20 hours in the same state.

Half of the time spent in bed is occupied by rapid, or paradoxical sleep. During it, the baby dreams, grows and develops. Scientists have found that during the rapid phase of sleep, the development of the brain and the formation of instincts inherent at the genetic level occur. At the same time, new, acquired skills are formed.

Around 3 months, each baby spends 15-16 hours a day sleeping. And if nothing bothers him: he is dry, fed and watered, waking up at night for a short time, he may not wake up his parents, taking care of himself. A grown-up baby, 6 months old, sleeps up to 12 hours, and a year up to 10-11 hours a day.

The duration of night sleep in an infant is very individual and depends on many factors. According to statistics, on average, a newborn baby's nightly sleep without interruption lasts from 4 to 6 hours.

Division into groups

All newborn children can be divided into groups:

1. Confused day with night (can wake up up to 10-12 times a night).
2. Increased muscle tone in the arms and legs: he may wake up every hour due to being frightened by his own chaotic movements.
3. Parents are very lucky: their baby sleeps at night for 4-6 hours and does not wake up.

Diapers instead of wet diapers

Up to 3 months, each infant will have to change up to 10 pieces of disposable diapers per day. If the baby remains wet for a long time, rashes, redness, and rashes may appear on his skin. This may be the reason why a small child sleeps poorly and wakes up frequently.

For nighttime sleep, disposable diapers with the highest absorbency are the right choice. Be sure to pay attention to the size of the “panties”: very large ones will slip or leak, and small ones will put a lot of pressure on the tummy or cut into the legs. This may cause the baby to sleep poorly and wake up frequently.

Tummy problems

Infant colic may be one of the reasons for poor sleep

Every newborn baby's digestive system is not yet fully formed. This may cause the child to sleep restlessly at night. Please note:

• Paroxysmal colic in the evening or at night, frequent crying, shuddering. It should help: a warming diaper on the tummy area, light massage movements, dill water.
• Swallowing air during feeding. Sleep is interrupted approximately 15 minutes after going to bed due to a bursting feeling in the stomach, often wakes up and cries.
• Problems with underfeeding or overeating: sleeps restlessly, cries.

Stomach problems disappear in most cases by 3-5 months.

Conditions for comfortable falling asleep

It is very important to pay attention to the situation and temperature conditions in the room where the baby sleeps:

1. The air temperature should not exceed 21-22˚С.
2. Regulate humidity using a humidifier.
3. Access to fresh air in the room.
4. Do not overheat a sleeping baby.
5. Avoid loud and harsh sounds.

Daily regime

A planned baby's daily routine will allow the baby to determine the periods of wakefulness and sleep.

Every small child is born with an established character, but not a daily routine formed in his head. And the task of parents is to help the newborn adapt to the environment and life in the family.

If you follow simple rules, your sleep at night should improve if the following conditions are met:

• accustom to regular feeding;
• During the day, if possible, spend time in an active state;
• evening bathing ritual.

If a baby is breastfed, he may willingly sleep next to his parents and often wake up in his crib. To fully restore the strength of mother and baby, let's sleep with parents for the first 2-3 months.

When to sound the alarm?

If in a dream a baby screams, makes various sounds, shudders, twitches its arms and legs, this can be either a physiological phenomenon (change of sleep phases) or a manifestation of the onset of various pathologies.

Parents should be alert to rhythmically repeating seizures. Consultation with a neurologist is required.

Night waking and snoring

A baby's breathing may be difficult due to crusts in the nose.

If a baby wakes up in his sleep at night from snoring and shuddering, a consultation with an ENT doctor is necessary. There may be several reasons: from colds and nasal congestion to severe pathologies.

"Night" cough

During daytime sleep, the baby sleeps peacefully, but at night wakes up due to coughing attacks. There may be several reasons:

• allergic reactions;
• runny nose and swelling of the nasopharyngeal mucosa;
• teeth are being cut;
• dry air in the bedroom;
• may start to get sick;
• vaccination reaction (DTP).

Consultation with a pediatrician is required.

Trembling in sleep

The reasons why an infant starts in his sleep and wakes up may be teething or colic in the abdomen. For a baby older than six months, there may be daytime fatigue or a lot of new impressions.

The reason for contacting a doctor will be the baby’s poor sleep, shuddering and waking up up to 10 times a night.

Moderate nighttime shaking is considered harmless

Six months have passed

Sometimes, a small child sleeps well until six months, and then begins to wake up and startle at night. What is the reason for this phenomenon?

The little man shows unprecedented activity for about six months. A lot of new impressions appear. Even positive emotions can overexcite a child’s nervous system. And the result is poor sleep at night.

Motion sickness

Why does a baby sleep poorly in his crib, but calmly falls asleep in his arms and is ready to spend the whole night like that? Rocking is rhythmic movements accompanied by the warmth of parental hands. A small child calmly falls asleep in his mother's arms. There is no need to be afraid that the baby will get used to the hands in his sleep. After all, for nine months he was next to his mother, heard her heartbeat. The time will come and the little person will learn to sleep through the night on his own.

Rocking a baby is one of the most common rituals that helps calm the baby and make it easier to fall asleep.

For parents

A baby in the family is a big challenge for young parents. We must be prepared for sleepless nights. It's OK. The child will grow up, sleep will improve at night, and parents will finally get some sleep. The baby will delight you with his games, smiles, roars... And the “nightmare” will be forgotten in a few months.

One of the important indicators of a baby’s good health is his sleep. At every age, a toddler should rest for a certain time, but many mothers complain that their child does not sleep well. The doctor, when he calculates the required amount, explains to the young mother that everything is in order. However, the sleep schedule is not observed, the baby often wakes up, and the woman does not have time to do anything around the house and rest. Let us examine in more detail why a newborn does not sleep well, and what can be done in this case.

Sleep norms for different ages

First, you should know how many hours a child should spend sleeping at different ages. From birth to three months, the baby sleeps, on average, 17 hours a day, from three months to six months he is entitled to rest approximately 15 hours, from seven months to twelve he needs to sleep approximately 14 hours. And starting from the age of one year, the toddler rests for 12-13 hours.

However, these data reflect average statistics, so you need to understand that each child is an individual who has his own characteristics. And therefore, parents’ panic about the fact that the baby sleeps only 16 or 15 hours is unfounded. For him this is an individual norm.

You need to worry if the actual amount of sleep differs by 4-5 hours, up or down. In this case, the child practically does not sit during the day or sleeps only during the daytime. If this happens, you should consult a neurologist. Perhaps the baby has certain health problems.

Causes of poor sleep

Why does my baby sleep poorly? In the vast majority of cases, young children have normal sleep, and abnormalities are uncommon. If problems do arise, this means that the baby is experiencing some discomfort or something is bothering him. Usually such lack of sleep is accompanied by whims and crying. If you take action, everything will return to normal, and the duration and quality of sleep will be restored.

A newborn does not sleep well at night for the following reasons:

1. Lack of comfortable conditions in the room. The fact is that thermoregulation in a baby is still very imperfect. Therefore, if the room is cold or hot, he will become ill and will not be able to sleep soundly. The situation can be corrected by installing an air conditioner and a battery. It is definitely recommended to ventilate the room frequently, but avoid drafts. The best ambient temperature for a baby is about 18-20 degrees.
2. Colic is often the cause of crying and lack of normal sleep. This is usually the main reason why a 2 month old baby does not sleep well during the day, and about 80% of babies suffer from this. By three months this problem usually goes away. But while it exists, you can go to the doctor, and he will prescribe the necessary medications that will reduce gas formation and intestinal spasms. In addition, it is necessary to feed the baby according to the daily routine and not overfeed. To help, you can give him a little dill water, or install a gas outlet tube.
3. From time to time, the baby may wake up due to an unpleasant sensation when his diaper or diaper gets wet. If you eliminate this problem, the baby will calm down and fall asleep.
4. Another reason why a newborn does not sleep well at night is hunger. It is especially difficult for a young mother when the baby wakes up at night, because she really wants to sleep on her own, and she may miss the prescribed feeding. But in the case when the child eats on time, and nevertheless constantly asks for food, the diet of the nursing woman should be reconsidered or the portion of milk he receives should be increased during artificial feeding.
5. Noise or bright light can interfere with normal sleep. Therefore, it is recommended to close curtains or blinds during daytime sleep. You should not constantly tiptoe so as not to wake up the little one. He should be gradually accustomed to normal noise throughout the day. This is especially important if the apartment is small and there are other children in it. But you shouldn’t play loud music or shout loudly. This way you can not only wake up the baby, but also negatively affect the state of his nervous system.
6. A newborn baby does not sleep well at night and during the day when his mother is not near him. In order to make sure of her presence, the baby may sob and whine in his sleep. If at the same time he does not receive his portion of rocking, stroking or encouraging voice, then he begins to cry quite loudly. Therefore, you should try, especially at first, to be as close to your child as possible in order to be able to calm him down in time. For this, it is better if the baby’s crib is located near the bed of his parents, on the mother’s side. This will allow her to calm the baby without getting up.
7. A common cause of poor sleep is an unfavorable family environment. If the mother is constantly nervous and stressed, then the baby, who at first has a very strong connection with her, suffers no less from this. Therefore, taking care of the mother’s peace of mind is a guarantee of normal sleep in the newborn.
8. When a 1 month old baby does not sleep well, it is also due to startling in his sleep, or involuntary movements of the arms. At this age, he may scratch his face or get his finger in the eye. After this, he wakes up from pain. This problem can be avoided by swaddling. At first, a tight method is recommended for such a child, then, as he grows up, you can only swaddle his arms. And then switch to special mittens and simply place the baby under the blanket.

In order for your baby to sleep soundly all the time appropriate for his age, you should use a number of tips:

1. It is good to have daily rituals for going to bed. This will help your baby develop a special reflex for falling asleep quickly. A fairy tale, a quiet song, swimming, or a light massage are suitable for relaxation.
2. For better sleep, you can use valerian. It is recommended to sew it in crushed form into small pillows and put it in the crib.
3. If a child of 5 months sleeps poorly, then at this age a soft toy will help him. He will be calmer if you put a bear or other animal nearby. When waking up, the child will see or feel his friend, and will calmly fall asleep again.
4. Before going to bed, you can take a bath with the addition of decoctions of soothing herbs (chamomile, lavender).
5. Before going to bed, you should not play too actively, watch TV, or listen to loud music.
6. To rest while sleeping, the child should create comfortable conditions. They consist in always using only clean bed linen, made from natural fabrics, and the absence of bright lights that hit the face and harsh sounds.
7. The sleeping room must contain oxygen, so it must be ventilated in advance, and when the baby gets older, it is best to sleep with the window open, especially in the warm season.

In the case when all methods have been tried and measures have been taken, and the baby still sleeps poorly, restlessly, and often wakes up, then you should go to a specialist and identify the cause of this phenomenon. The child may need qualified help.