The baby does not sleep well. Causes of frequent awakening in infants at night

Lyudmila Sergeevna Sokolova

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Last update articles: 03.01.2019

Some parents believe that if a newborn baby wakes up several times a night, then this is normal. However, pediatricians have a different opinion on this matter. Subject to certain rules the baby's sleep is normalized within two to three months of life.

Causes

The reasons for constant awakenings are divided into physiological and psychological. In children up to a year, both phases of sleep, superficial and deep, replace each other every hour. Even if the child wakes up and nothing disturbs him, he will fall asleep again in a short period of time.

TO physiological reasons several factors can be attributed:

The room is very light or noisy.
The child is hungry or thirsty.
Intestinal colic, pain from teething, heat body, runny nose.
Uncomfortable clothing.
A poorly made bed prevents a baby from sleeping.
Wet diaper or diaper.
In the room where the baby sleeps, the temperature is uncomfortable. Optimal temperature regime- 18-23 degrees.

Correcting the situation is extremely simple, the main thing is to learn how to accurately determine the circumstances that caused discomfort. Talk to your doctor about what medications to take and what to do about colic, fever, runny nose, and teething.

Psychological reasons are:

Lack of communication, physical contact with the mother, physical activity.
Restless atmosphere in the family. The baby very subtly feels the mood of mom and dad. Quarrels and screams have a very negative effect on the well-being of the crumbs.
Baby got negative emotions during the day. Even a broken favorite toy can cause a restless night.
A lot of new experiences can also provoke overwork and, as a result, poor sleep.
Various fears.
Children up to a year also sometimes see bad dreams, which cause awakening and crying.

Parents should be patient and calm about this problem. If restless sleep has become a frequent guest, contact your pediatrician. Your doctor may refer you to a neurologist for an examination. He will conduct an inspection and tell you what to do in this situation.

Norms of day and night sleep

A newborn baby should sleep at night for about nine hours, and during the day from four to six. Daytime sleep is divided into two times. It is considered normal if the baby wakes up every hour at night until the age of three months. During this period, the sleep of the crumbs is the most sensitive - any rustle can cause awakening. Parents can only be a little patient and try to prevent the occurrence of the above factors in order to protect the sleep of the little one.

From six months, the baby wakes up much less often. Closer to the year, the number of awakenings decreases to one or two. If the child continues to get up often at night, then only an experienced specialist can answer the questions of why and what to do.

At the age of about a year, it is worth accustoming the little one to fall asleep on its own. If the child wakes up at night, he will be able to go back to sleep without the help of adults. Read a fairy tale, sing a lullaby and let your child fall asleep with their favorite toy. Thus, the lesson of independence will be learned painlessly.

Breastfeeding and sleep

It has long been proven that mothers who breastfeed and practice co-sleeping, milk is produced better and does not disappear much longer. It's all about frequent breastfeeding during the night. If the baby began to sleep with his mother from birth, then his sleep can only be envied. Woke up - immediately fed and again in dreams. The situation is different when the child sleeps in his crib. Both mother and baby need more time to re-immerse themselves in dreams.

Despite all positive points, co-sleeping has some consequences. Getting used to getting milk at the first call, the baby cannot do without breasts during bedtime and throughout the night.

Starting from the age of six months, the child ceases to look for a sense of security at the breast, he learns new world at the speed of light. It is at this moment that it is best to wean the little one from sleeping with his mother. As they grow older, sleep gradually normalizes, the number of feedings will decrease.

What to do if your child has bad associations with sleep

Often a newborn baby gets used to sleeping in a carrier or car seat. In this case, it can be difficult to adjust to the crib. But sleep in a car seat or a portable cradle cannot be called full and deep. Subsequently, parents do not understand why the baby begins to sleep fitfully during the day, constantly wakes up and is naughty. These babies may skip feeding before bedtime and fall asleep immediately. At night, the child often wakes up hungry, and in the morning the mother is tired. And this situation will repeat every day, getting worse.

What to do with such a schedule? Try to create the most comfortable atmosphere in the room. It needs to be ventilated, close the curtains and turn off the lights. Silence is key. After ten days, you will notice that the baby began to sleep better day and night.

If there are bad associations with sleep, you need to help the baby sleep. Put next to you in bed, go for a walk in a stroller - a newborn should sleep according to his age. It is worth remembering that you do not need to make a problem out of this and panic. The baby is very sensitive to the mood of the mother, and you will notice that he has become more capricious. This situation will only exacerbate the situation.

How to improve sleep

The first step is to determine what time it is convenient for the baby to fall asleep. If the baby began to go to bed late and wake up early, then it becomes clear why he is naughty. The cause of tears is lack of sleep. So, you need to move the laying time a few hours earlier. The optimal time is 9-10 hours.

An important role is played by the ritual of going to bed. You can go to the bathroom, do a light massage, give a good song from your mother. Each parent has the right to independently choose the stages of the ritual.

If the baby began to refuse to go to bed, you need to reconsider what you do with him before bedtime. Even a newborn baby gets tired of noisy toys or vivid impressions. Give in evening time preference for what can be done without too much fuss - read a fairy tale, watch a cartoon, go for a walk in the yard, etc.

You also need to adjust the amount of daytime sleep. If the little one began to open his eyes after a daytime sleep at six o'clock, then the regimen is subject to revision. It is best to go to bed at 12-13 o'clock and sleep for 2-3 hours.

Quality diapers can also be a night's sleep savior. If you're used to making do with economy diapers and they're constantly wet or leaking, try buying something more expensive. You can find out about the quality characteristics on numerous forums for moms.

The disease becomes ordeal for both adults and babies. So that a stuffy nose or a high temperature does not interfere with peaceful sleep, everything must be done to eliminate the manifestations of the disease. The nose began to breathe badly - clean with physiological saline, the temperature jumped - give an antipyretic, etc.

Violations of the regime may be observed if you have recently changed your place of residence. The usual move for adults was a shock for the crumbs. Be patient and sympathetic to the fact that the child wants to sleep in your bed or wakes up more often. In time, everything will return to normal.

Restless nights during the first year of a toddler's life are quite normal. The main thing is to find out why this is happening, and try to eliminate the reasons why the baby began to wake up. Doing everything necessary to maintain the health of the baby is the main task of relatives.

Quite often, parents are faced with a situation where a child wakes up at night with a tantrum and begins to cry a lot for no apparent reason. Pediatricians reassure and say that such a phenomenon occurs all the time. It is especially common if the baby is still very small (up to a year). To know how to behave as parents, we advise you to find out key reason crying. Do not immediately go to the pharmacy for children's sedatives and even more so to raise your voice to the child.

The main causes of baby crying at night

So why does the baby cry when he wakes up? In fact, there are a lot of reasons and most of them do not pose a danger to the baby. As a rule, night crying is associated with the following factors:

Not fully formed nervous system. She may suddenly move from calm state to active. For this reason, children may wake up in the middle of the night.
It is not uncommon for a child to often wake up at night due to frightening or unpleasant dreams. In addition, he is afraid of losing his mother and being left alone. This, above all, concerns very young children who still have a very strong mental connection with their mother.
If a child wakes up at night and cries, it is quite possible that the reason should be sought in his physiological needs. He may be hungry or feel the need to go to the bathroom.
Like adults, children often experience discomfort from uncomfortable sleeping positions. For this reason, they are numb certain part bodies, and they wake up screaming or crying.
In addition, babies may wake up due to unpleasant or pain during teething. Therefore, we advise you to look at the gums of the child. In this case, they will be inflamed and swollen.

If your child wakes up crying with a certain regularity and is difficult to put back to sleep, we advise you to contact your pediatrician. He, in turn, can refer the baby to a cardiologist and a neurologist. And even if the examination does not reveal anything, but you can play it safe and be calm.

Physiological and neurological causes

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons why a child wakes up at night. It is impossible to exclude neurological factors - deviations and disorders. Rarely, but still it happens that after the examination such dangerous pathologies are revealed:

excessive intracranial pressure;
blood clots;
accumulation of fluid in the brain and so on.

These and many other disturbances are usually accompanied by tantrums, screaming and crying either during or immediately after sleep. Only pediatric neurologist capable of accurately diagnosing and selecting the optimal medications, considering individual characteristics child.

TO neurological reasons can be attributed to the inability of the baby to cope with excessive emotional stress. Throughout the day he gets a lot new information, which the fragile children's brain is trying to process and structure. As a result, the child has a nervous shock. Moreover, the cause of such a shock can be both a negative and a positive episode. Think about what might excite the child

It is possible that the reason lies on the surface:

Don't forget that more often than not, a baby wakes up and cries for obvious reasons. IN childhood the nervous system as well as the psyche are still developing. They are very sensitive to external factors. Therefore, parents should protect the baby from negative information and dose their emotions.

When the baby grows up and begins to perceive himself as a person separate from his mother, the first fears appear. They can also be the reason why the baby cries when he wakes up. In this case, we advise you to fall asleep with the baby so that he feels safe.

A little less often, but still it happens that sleep is disturbed by increased meteorological sensitivity of the crumbs. A child wakes up crying in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm, rain, full moon, and so on. At the same time, in such children, blood pressure will change dramatically.

How to help?

If your baby cries in his sleep and doesn't wake up, or cries and then wakes up, we recommend that you pay attention to the following tips. They will help improve the quality of your children's sleep so that they fall asleep healthy, evenly and deep sleep. So what to do:

And, of course, do not panic if you notice that your children wake up from time to time during a night's sleep. It's absolutely normal phenomenon which more than one generation of parents has faced and will face in the future.

Take more walks with your baby fresh air Always put him to bed and feed him at the same time. This will provide fast falling asleep and completely eliminate the night cries and cries.

You have been awake for several nights in a row and wonder why the child wakes up at night? You should not hope for a miracle and wait for changes, but it's time to find the reason for the nightly festivities and cries. The baby may wake up due to a violation of the phases of sleep and rest, his teeth may painfully erupt, or he is simply hungry. It is enough to observe your little one and the situation will definitely clear up.

Night festivities of a newborn

If you consoled yourself with hopes that your newborn baby would sleep all night long, we hasten to upset you. A child under 3 months simply a priori will not be able to sleep for so long (what happens to a baby at this age? For details, see the article What a child should be able to do at 3 months?>>>). He wakes up to breastfeed, pee, and sometimes just grunt.

In a newborn, the phase of superficial sleep prevails. A knock or clap is enough, and the baby wakes up and cries. Often the baby wakes himself up by twitching his arms. You can try to swaddle him, then naughty fists will not interrupt sweet dreams.

A detailed algorithm for improving baby's sleep is waiting for you in the video course Calm sleep of a baby from 0 to 6 months >>>.

Psychological aspects

Situations when your child often wakes up at night and cries, and calms down only after he is picked up, there is a psychological explanation:

The baby is used to being rocked in his arms or in a deck chair, and already sleepy is transferred to the crib. Just imagine his reaction when, having opened his eyes, instead of his mother's hugs, he sees the bars of the bed. He is seized with fear and despair, and he will calm down only in his arms.

In this case, you can go two ways:

Start practicing co-sleeping. The child will feel your warmth, smell, heartbeat. At the slightest awakening, you give the baby a breast and continue to sleep. (read a useful article: How long to feed a baby at night?>>>);
You need to teach your baby to fall asleep on his own. To do this, after feeding, you put the baby in the crib, while you yourself are nearby. You can stroke him, sing a lullaby, but do not take him in your arms and do not rock him additionally.

The method is not simple. But if you act consistently, then within 2-3 weeks you will see how your baby's sleep improves. In order to understand the algorithm, study the course, which details how to teach a child to fall asleep on his own: How to transfer a child to a separate bed ?>>>

A baby who learns to fall asleep without motion sickness will not cry at night and, having opened his eyes, may roll over and fall asleep again.

The moment the child moves to a separate bed after practice co-sleeping most often will be accompanied by nocturnal awakenings. You need to create optimal conditions for the baby. A night light, a favorite toy, a new soft pajama with your favorite hero will come in handy;
Tell that all children have their own bed, read similar fairy tales or show cartoons. A little patience, and the sleep of the little one will last, as expected, all night and in his own bed;
Nighttime waking may occur after weaning or bottle feeding. But you must understand that such vagaries are temporary, and sooner or later you will have to go through this. By the way, the nipple is not a way to fall asleep at all. The child will not keep it in his mouth all night, and as soon as it falls out, he will wake up;
Baby sleep disturbances may appear when you go to work, or the child goes to kindergarten. Don't give up, you are not doing anything wrong, and the child will soon understand this.

Night whims, unless, of course, they are associated with nightmares - a kind of child's cry for help. He says that the child has not yet mastered the skill independent sleep and needs your comfort. Your task is to show him that your offer to sleep separately is not a punishment, but his right to deep sleep and personal space.

Sleep and wake disturbances

You know for sure that the baby should walk during the day and sleep at night, but you may not even guess when the night's rest should begin.

Proved that optimal time for falling asleep from 19:30 to 20:30. It is at this time that the body produces the hormone melatonin.

The baby with all his appearance shows you that he is ready to sleep: he rubs his eyes, yawns, and lies down on the pillow. Don't waste your chance and put your baby in the crib. If you miss the moment, the stress hormone will replace melatonin, and in the near future you will observe a jumping and laughing out loud toddler under the influence of the hormone cortisol.

When going to bed is forced and at the wrong time, the child constantly wakes up at night, sleeps for a long time in the morning and wakes up, as a rule, without mood.

Night feast

Night snacks are allowed only in infancy, older children will be able to survive the night without food, especially if they eat well during the day. If your baby is breastfeeding, then he usually wakes up 3-4 times a night, is applied to the chest for a short time and immediately falls asleep again.

Children after a year of nighttime treats generally need to be reduced to zero. The maximum is to offer to drink a little water. But do not forget to make sure that your gourmet eats the whole dinner, you can offer him kefir or warm milk. Perhaps your child has begun to wake up at night precisely because he goes to bed hungry.

Sleep regression

Sleep disturbances can provoke new skills and abilities of the child, overstrain and excessive excitability, a change in the number of daytime sleep and their duration.

There is no need to panic, as these moments of crisis occur in every baby, and with patience, you will special efforts overcome temporary interruptions in rest and sleep. Stick to a daily routine, set your own bedtime rituals, and don't follow your child's lead. A lot of useful information on this question you will find in the article Rituals before going to bed >>>.

Medical nuances

The reason that your child does not sleep well at night, wakes up, cries, may be health problems.

Adults are also worried about teeth, so you can understand a baby whose teeth are just erupting. As an option - give the child a teether or lubricate the gums special tool(Dentinoks, Dentol-baby, Kamistad). It will help relieve pain and children's Panadol;
Cold is not the best companion healthy sleep. If a little one has a clogged nose, then it is difficult for him to breathe and, accordingly, sleep (read the current article: How to protect a child from a cold?>>>). The spout must be washed and cleaned. By the way, the cause of a runny nose may be an allergy to the spring riot of plants.

When sleep disorders have a clear explanation and, after the necessary manipulations, disappear, then there is no reason for concern. Another thing is nightly crying on an ongoing basis. Without medical examination in this case is not necessary.

Sleep conditions

You must understand that the quality of night sleep is also affected by where and how the baby sleeps. The optimal temperature for a night's rest is 20-23 degrees, or less, so do not rush to turn on the heater as soon as the heating is turned off. Be sure to ventilate the room in the evening, you can leave the window for micro-ventilation all night;
Pajamas are the perfect outfit for traveling to the realm of Morpheus. In summer - thin, in winter - terry, and, most importantly: by age. By the way, the process of dressing for bed is also part of the ritual and mood for rest;
It is also important on which mattress the child sleeps. Leave orthopedic delights for the preschool period, and children under 3 years old are recommended hard natural mattresses, for example, from coconut fiber (read an important article: Which mattress to choose for a newborn?>>>);
Regarding pillows, a newborn does not need them at all, and an older child will only need one flat pillow (current article: Pillow for a newborn >>>);
From birth, do not accustom the baby to absolute silence and darkness, otherwise he will wake up after the slightest noise;
Sleeping rituals for you should become a law and not be violated either with guests or on trips. It is enough to go off schedule several times in order to improve the baby’s sleep for weeks.

I hope that with the help of the tips in this article, you can easily and effortlessly set up night sleep your baby. Sweet dreams and good nights!

From many mothers, you can hear that their baby does not sleep well at night. What should parents do in such a situation, when and why does this happen?

Most perfectly healthy children sleep restlessly in infancy. This fact does not mean that the situation should be accepted. If the child is sensitive and restless, most likely, nocturnal awakenings will not stop soon. When an understanding comes of why this is happening and what to do about it, parents will be able to correct some points and provide themselves and the baby with a more fruitful rest.

Cause classification

The causes of night anxiety can be divided into primary and secondary. Primary - those that arise on their own. Secondary - these are concerns that have appeared as a result of any disorders, symptoms, diseases.

If, against the backdrop of a general normal behavior any symptoms suddenly appear, and the child’s sleep is sharply disrupted until this time, a fairly good sleep - this is a reason to see a doctor. Possible cause frequent awakening the infant may have pain associated with the underlying disease.

In this case, the actions of parents should be aimed, first of all, at eliminating the primary problem.

Possible reasons

Why healthy baby can suffer from sleep disturbance, and what to do about it? Periodically occurring sleep disturbances against the background of the general favorable behavior of the child can be caused by conditions that are not associated with the disease, but cause discomfort to the child. When the baby becomes restless, the feeling of discomfort intensifies at night.

Reasons for concern may include:

Intestinal colic, bloating.
Teething.
Allergic reactions.

Manifestation food allergies often found among children under one year old. Allergic reaction can be characterized not only by rashes on the skin, but also provoke itching, eating disorders.

More often these manifestations are not associated with true allergies, but arise due to immaturity. digestive tract. Enzymatic system the baby is not yet able to fully digest food, and any large molecules that enter the infant's esophagus with mother's milk or as part of infant formula can provoke responses. Specific resistance to any food can be observed during the introduction of complementary foods.

During teething, the gums swell in the baby. Often the baby has increased salivation. When the baby is teething, he tries to chew something all the time.

In infants, eating disorders often occur due to the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract. Digestive system the baby may react negatively to any sudden changes in nutrition.

If these factors during daytime wakefulness can slightly affect the behavior of the baby, due to the fact that the child is constantly distracted by something, then at night the baby begins to concentrate on his problems. He sleeps restlessly, constantly waking up, screaming and crying.

If these problems are found to be the cause restless sleep, and in their absence the child has no problems falling asleep and resting at night, then, first of all, it is necessary to deal with the symptoms that prevent the baby from sleeping.

During allergic manifestations itching is well relieved antihistamines And special ointments. Chamomile infusion will help to improve digestion, Dill water or medicines to reduce bloating. Gels based on lidocaine reduce pain in the gums when teeth begin to erupt.

Before using any medicines it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Factors affecting sleep

It happens that the child is constantly either long time has trouble sleeping at night. And the reasons for this are not diseases and not the aforementioned conditions, but other factors, for example:

Physiological characteristics of infant sleep.
Lack of a clear regime.
Low activity during the day (the child spends little energy).
overexcitation nervous system.
Uncomfortable sleeping environment.
Sudden changes in the life of an infant.

These are just some of the reasons that answer the question why the child does not sleep well at night. In fact, there may be many more. Here everything is individual for each baby. What is left for parents to do? Try to find the main factor that prevents their crumbs from resting peacefully, and do everything possible to make the child feel calm during sleep.

Baby sleep has its own characteristics. As in an adult, the baby has two main phases of sleep:

Slow sleep.
Quick sleep.

During the first phase, the body is more relaxed, breathing and heartbeat slowed down. A person is able to respond to external stimuli and wake up.

REM sleep is deeper. During it, there is an increase in the rhythm of the heart and breathing. There is arrhythmia. Muscle tone reduced, twitching of body parts and movement are observed eyeballs. Man sees dreams. The brain analyzes the information accumulated during daily activity.

Each phase of sleep in an adult lasts from 90 to 100 minutes, while in an infant they last no more than 40 minutes.

The slow sleep of the baby is more superficial and sensitive. The child changes overnight large quantity sleep cycles. Unlike an adult, it is completely natural for a baby to wake up at night.

If the baby is characterized by increased nervous excitability, he will wake up easily and often at night. Physiology explains why babies often wake up at night. What is left for parents to do?

Newborn baby most spends his life in a dream, up to 20 hours a day.

For him, there is still no clear division into daytime and nighttime sleep. He wakes up every time he wants to eat. And this can be after 2 hours, and after half an hour, and even more often. By about 2-3 months, the baby will develop a certain mode of alternating periods of activity and sleep. What is mom to do until then?

Establish feeding

Co-sleeping will help make life easier for mom and baby during the neonatal period. The feeling of a mother nearby gives the child a sense of confidence and calmness. It has been proven that when children sleep together, they sleep more peacefully and wake up less often.

If your baby is breastfeeding, feeding on demand, especially at night, will help get your baby to sleep faster.

You should not wait for the awakened child to begin to voice with might and main. It is best to offer the breast when the baby is just beginning to express anxiety. This will help your baby get back to sleep faster.

An artificial baby will be easier to teach to sleep peacefully if you establish a feeding regimen. In this case, the intervals between night feedings should be made as long as possible. The child, getting used to rarely eat at night, begins to wake up less and sleep more peacefully. Over time, after 6 months, you can try to remove night feedings. However, you need to stop feeding your baby at night gradually.

follow the regime

A well-adjusted daily routine helps to accustom the child on time and quickly fall asleep. You can build a regimen by observing the biorhythms of the baby. During the day, the child has periods of activity and rest. Noting after what time the baby wants to sleep, what time he falls asleep better and at what hours his sleep is the strongest, you can set a certain regimen that will need to be strictly observed.

If you teach your baby to fall asleep at the same time, it will be easier to put him to bed in the evening. Having tuned in to sleep in advance, the baby will sleep better and wake up less often at night.

Failure to comply with the regime leads to a violation of falling asleep. When parents try to put the child to bed, he may still want to stay awake and play at this time. As a result of a long falling asleep, the baby is overworked, and then often wakes up at night.

Ensure normal activity

According to one version, children who have spent little energy during the day do not sleep well. The child may refuse to sleep if he is not tired enough. Therefore, parents need to create conditions for the baby under which he will required amount time to move during the day: do exercises with him, do gymnastics, active games, for a long time to walk outside.

It is also important to ensure that the child does not overwork during daytime activities. For the strongest impressions, it is better to take the first half of the day.

The nervous overexcitation received during the day is badly reflected in the night's sleep. Overexcited, the baby often wakes up and for a long time cannot fall asleep again.

Create an environment

A comfortable environment will help to teach your baby to sleep peacefully. First of all, you need to dismiss all the circumstances that prevent the baby from sleeping: ventilate the room, make sure that the child is not hot or cold, straighten the bed linen, eliminate any wrinkles on the clothes and diaper that cause discomfort to the baby, give before bedtime to drink or eat.

All active games should be finished well before bedtime. When laying down the baby, the mother herself should be in a calm, balanced state. Some babies sleep better in complete darkness, others, on the contrary, feel calmer in the light of a night lamp. It is easier to teach a child to sleep all night, creating the most comfortable circumstances for him.

Stop the tantrum

When parents respond to the needs of the baby in time, the child feels more confident. If you approach him, as soon as he begins to act up, not allowing him to scream, over time the baby begins to behave more calmly. There is confidence in him that his requests will not be ignored. The need to scream loudly and for a long time disappears by itself.

The baby can experience stress from any sudden change. A change of scenery, long road, cancel breastfeeding and so on are reflected in his psychological state, including the state of night sleep.

Parents should understand that waking up at night is for baby- This is fine. All that remains for them to do is to be patient and try to create comfortable conditions for falling asleep and sleeping the baby, competently alternate periods of activity and rest of the child in daytime. And be sure to follow and correct the regime in time.

When a child is born, the interests and desires of the parents are relegated to the background. All the time is devoted to the baby. Even adult sleep at night is called into question if the newborn does not sleep well at night.

Of course, this does not apply to all children. Some babies sleep peacefully from feeding to feeding, others find it difficult to fall asleep, often wake up and cry. In many ways, nighttime behavior is based on character traits, which, of course, every child has from birth. But even babies have sleep features that you should be aware of in order to take into account when compiling a regimen.

Sleep norms

There are some norms and patterns of sleep, and if the child does not sleep well at night, then for this, most likely, there are objective reason. Naturally, the figures are approximate and, of course, depend on the individuality of the child.

If the baby does not stop crying and does not sleep well at night, this may be due to changes in age characteristics.

Approximate sleep calendar for infants

Age up to 2 months

Sleep up to 17 hours a day. The baby wakes up only for feeding. At this stage, there are only fast phase sleep, so the duration of sleep without a break is about an hour. Crying at this age is a signal for feeding. After feeding, he does not fall asleep immediately, spins, crawls - it is necessary to swaddle to ensure the immobility of the arms and legs. The most restless period due to the inability to sleep for a long time.

In the first days and months, a newborn baby does not sleep well, as it needs frequent feeding and wakes up every time you feel hungry.

2 – 4 months

15-16 hours of sleep. The duration of sleep increases to 4 hours, the intervals between feedings are lengthened. An individual regime begins to take shape.

5 months - 1 year

Sleep can be 15 hours. The time of night sleep prevails over daytime, the amount of sleep during the day is reduced to 2-3 times.

1 – 2 years

13-15 hours. The scheme is finally approved, according to which the duration of night sleep is several times greater than daytime sleep. There may be problems with sleep due to cutting teeth.

When growing up total hours spent in sleep per day, gradually decreases, but at the same time, the duration of sleep of each time period increases. Sleep becomes deeper.

All sleep parameters are individual, depending on the speed of development and the nature of the child, as well as on the discipline of the parents, how accurately they adhere to the formed regimen.

Mode

Finding out the reason why the baby does not sleep well at night, despite the fact that he does not sleep all day, means half solving the problem that has arisen.

For calm and good sleep It is important to properly lay the baby so that falling asleep occurs quickly, and sleep is deep and sound.

With timely accustoming to the regimen, the number of problems with the sleep of an infant will become much less and the question that a newborn does not sleep well at night will cease to arise.

Why does a baby need to sleep well?

Sleep is an important part of a baby's life. When the baby does not sleep or does not sleep enough, this has a bad effect on the formation process various systems organism. It is during sleep that the most productive work of the pituitary gland begins.

The pituitary gland is the central organ endocrine system, is responsible for the production of hormones that affect growth and metabolism. Within a few months after birth, the baby's biorhythms are adjusted, according to which the body determines the time of sleep and wakefulness.

Rituals before bed

A fairly common reason for reluctance to fall asleep in young children is separation anxiety from their parents. The child simply does not want to be alone. Therefore, the moment of going to bed is very important for both children and parents.

Before going to bed should be given Special attention child, make tactile contact, listen to soothing music, use nightlights to create a peaceful, sleepy atmosphere.

You should come up with a kind of ritual that helps the child fall asleep. And the systematic repetition of the ritual will help make falling asleep quick and painless for the psyche.

Rituals give a feeling of stability, security, comfort, create a feeling of love, tenderness and peace, confidence that when the time comes to wake up, everything will still be in order.

The ritual should appear within the first 6 months of life, and be used systematically for at least 2 months. This method helps parents to help the child if he often wakes up in the middle of the night, but also provides an opportunity to strengthen the emotional connection with the baby.

Bathing

Bathing is one of the most common ways to start preparing a newborn for a night's sleep.

When bathing, it is important to pay attention to the water temperature of 37-39 degrees.

For an evening bath, you can use, add soothing ingredients to the water - lemon balm, wormwood. Be sure to make sure that there are no allergies to the components used.

After swimming, you can do. It is important to accustom the child's body to fall asleep after all the manipulations with bathing, massage, evening hugs, listening to quiet music and dimming the lights.

If you repeat all the steps every day at the same time, a habit will appear that will help the baby fall asleep peacefully.

deep and healthy sleep the child is not only important for the harmonious development, but also pleasant to others, who also need rest after a busy day. So main advice parents - observance of discipline, this is paramount for the formation of the regime.

Tricks before bed

It is equally important to be firm and not go on about at the moment of a capricious mood. The baby must learn to fall asleep on its own, increased attention and overprotection can play a cruel joke with parents.

If the child gets used to motion sickness and begins to fall asleep only in this case, parents will have to pay such increased attention every night before going to bed, otherwise whims and tantrums will begin. The child can and should be taught to some independence, so that after performing the ritual, he fell asleep in his crib alone.

Older children are realizing that a night's sleep means the end of activity, play and fun. That is why they try to delay this moment as long as possible. If parents allow games to drag on, problems with a night's sleep are almost inevitable, due to overexcitation of the nervous system. An overwrought child is much more difficult to put to sleep, even if fatigue is present, he simply will not be able to fall asleep. Therefore, every day you should adhere to the regimen and start preparing for bed at a strictly defined time.

daytime sleep

An important factor necessary for a properly organized daily routine is daytime sleep. The fact is that the child is in force physiological features not able to stay awake on a par with adults. That is why daytime sleep must be turned on at a certain time, then the need for night sleep will arise exactly on schedule.

If the question arises why the baby does not sleep well during the day and does not sleep at night, perhaps the answer is related to the violation of the regime. All family members should be warned about the features of the baby's regimen and adhere to the established rules as accurately as possible.

Other causes of sleep disturbance
Not always compliance with the regimen is a guarantee of a calm sleep of the child. Eat great amount external factors capable of interrupting a night's sleep.

. The baby has nervous disorders, the quality of sleep naturally deteriorates. A neurologist will give an accurate assessment physiological state and the necessary information on how to deal with it;
Disease. If a monthly baby is not healthy and does not feel well, it means that he will wake up. , crying, continuous night wakefulness - an occasion to immediately consult a doctor;
. The accumulation of gas in the intestines and abdomen causes pain. Gentle massage and gymnastics are recommended;
. The gums are inflamed and itchy, so the newborn baby does not sleep well. In this case, you need to have in the refrigerator, which helps with inflammation;
Failure of biorhythms. crying baby confused night and day;
psychological atmosphere. Due to the strong emotional connection between the infant and the mother, any mood swings immediately provoke backlash. Nervous state mothers, tantrums, screams and tears lead to the fact that the child does not sleep well at night;
Skin discomfort. , arising, cause unpleasant sensations that prevent restful sleep day and night;
Temperature regime. Uncomfortable indoor climate can cause night whims.

The dependence of night sleep on the type of temperament
The character of the child is manifested from the first days of life. The type of temperament is also a factor influencing the sleep of a newborn.

Phlegmatic

Phlegmatic babies love to sleep, do it often and with pleasure, and here it doesn’t matter at all if the child is 3 months old or two. In the absence of external interfering factors, phlegmatic people sleep without disturbing others.

Sanguine

Sanguine people from birth have a restless disposition, actively study the world And they don't like to sleep at all. Such children are restless, restless, hyperactive, often in an excited state, which prevents a good night's sleep.

The character of the child cannot be changed, but from the first days of life it is possible to accustom the baby to discipline. A clear daily routine, compliance with the established rules, primarily by parents, will help to avoid violations baby sleep and complaints that the baby began to sleep poorly at night. The kid will learn to fully relax at night, and the parents will have less sleepless nights and more opportunities for recuperation.

Ways to get back to sleep

When the baby is still awake and crying, there are some tips for a quick lullaby:

A soft toy creates a feeling of the presence of a mother nearby. That is why many children do not want to part with their toy friends at night;
Soft lullaby music. It acts like a sleeping pill, because it resembles the sound of amniotic fluid;
Soft light. You should not turn on the overhead light when getting up at night to the child, in order to avoid day-night confusion;
Whisper. A quiet voice will teach a child to distinguish between night and day;
Swaddling. The freedom of arms and legs often distract the baby from sleep, he begins to actively move and does not fall asleep;
Cry. You should not immediately get up and run to the baby at the first sob, quite often it all ends with him.

There can be many answers to the question why a newborn does not sleep well. Provide good vacation and to teach a child to observe the regimen and fall asleep on time is largely the task of parents. There are situations when the child does not sleep and the responsibility for this lies entirely with the adults who are nearby at this moment. The stereotype of parental behavior largely determines how quickly the baby gets used to the regimen and whether it learns at all.

The problem of keeping children awake at night affects not only parents, who also need rest. normal development of all body systems is possible only under favorable and harmonious conditions, which are created by achieving a balance between sleep and wakefulness.