Why does a child sleep poorly at night - possible causes and solutions to the problem

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

From the first days after the birth of a child, parents face many problems. Restless behavior, poor nutrition, unnatural lethargy of a baby at a particular age - all this is a serious reason for excitement. Bad sleep is no exception. Therefore, you need to find out why the child does not sleep well at night.

Causes of poor sleep in a child

Newborn babies spend most of their sleep time in the active stage. This is not a sound sleep, they can be awakened by the slightest rustle, a slight noise. In such a semi-drowsy state, the baby can stay all night. Before the child reaches the age of 2, for parents, the question of why the child does not sleep well at night remains unresolved. Sometimes restless nighttime behavior depends on external factors:

• Unfavorable environmental conditions.
• Incorrect baby care.
• Irregular diet.
• Incorrectly formed daily routine.
• Nervousness during the day.

Effort, endless patience of parents will help to eliminate problems and adjust the daily routine, which relatively improves the situation and leads to normal, calm nighttime behavior of the child. It should also be taken into account that with growth, active sleep decreases, thereby increasing the proportion of deep sleep. In this phase, even the loudest sounds are not able to wake the baby. Regardless of age (10 days, 6 months, etc.), a baby should not cry a lot during the day, stay in one diaper for a long time, eat without a regimen. From this, the baby falls into a nervous state, which affects the night's sleep.

Mothers are very closely monitoring the behavior of the child in the daytime, follow all the recommendations of the pediatrician, strictly follow the established regimen. Anyway, at night the baby "gives tours." Why is the child's sleep bad? It's very simple: he just didn't spend all his energy in a day.

Restless sleep of a month old baby

A month old baby sleeps 18-20 hours a day. Frequent and long sleep is necessary for the production of growth hormone and the achievement of maturity. The active growth of the baby occurs precisely at the time of sleep. The process slows down if sleep is irregular. At the age of one month, children easily fall asleep after bathing, feeding, and often fall asleep with the breast in their mouth. The baby can rest for a long time. If he woke up without having time to fall asleep deeply, it means that something is bothering him. Why does a baby sleep poorly at night at the age of 1 month? The reasons are as follows:

• Very loud noise.
• A brightly lit room.
• Air temperature(too hot or cold).
• Air condition (in the children's room, the air should be exceptionally fresh).
• Incorrect diapers for this baby.

It is also necessary to take into account that babies, going to bed, get used to the environment that is set by their parents day and night. If the baby, putting to sleep during the day, is rocked in his arms, he will definitely demand the same actions at night, expressing this by crying. Even at the age of 1 month, the child distinguishes day from night, mother's hugs from the cradle.

The effect of physical condition on a child's sleep

Baby up to 1 month old usually behaves calmly, without disturbing the regime of wakefulness and sleep. Everything goes according to the established rule of behavior for newborn children: woke up, ate, stood with the help of his mother like a soldier, fell asleep. But something went wrong.

The baby began to act up, cry endlessly, and, worst of all, his night's sleep was disturbed. One of the problems why a month-old baby does not sleep well at night is his physical condition. A newborn baby is slowly getting used to the outside world.

Adaptation of a baby is a very complex process that parents must take into account when caring for a baby. He gradually gets used to the living conditions, nutrition. Often babies show anxiety, feeling discomfort on the body from clothes. If the children's nightwear is made of synthetics, the child will begin to sweat, itching will bother him, and his sleep will be disturbed.

Parents who are not able to understand the irritability of the baby themselves often turn to the pediatricianwith the question why their 1 month old baby does not sleep well at night. For a correct answer to the question, the baby undergoes a medical examination. As a result, the true cause of his restless sleep is revealed. This may be a violation of the function of the gastrointestinal tract, colic in the tummy, gases. After the procedures prescribed by the pediatrician, the behavior of the baby changes significantly for the better, he sleeps more peacefully both day and night.

Causes of startle in sleep

There are often times when a one-month-old baby behaves restlessly in a dream. Being in the stage of development, the body of a newborn is gradually formed and adapts to everything new. This process does not bypass the nervous system. The baby sees objects, hears sounds, and reacts to them in its own way. The formation of reflexes, neural ligaments begins, which is often the cause of overexcitation of the newborn. If you put him to bed in such an agitated state, in the stage of superficial sleep he will begin to flinch periodically. As a result, the child sleeps poorly at night and wakes up frequently.

Sleep of a 4-month-old baby

Baby is 4 months old. This is a difficult period in a baby's life. In fact, the duration of his sleep in the daytime should be at least 4-6 hours. At night, the duration is 10-12 hours.

At 4 months, the baby begins to develop, and the time of activity continuously increases. His behavior step by step passes into the adult stage. It is at this time that night sleep and the behavior of the baby during the daytime deteriorate sharply, even if he was calm before that, slept well.

Improved coordination of movements, the formation of the nervous system, activity are experiencing a new stage in development, when the baby tries to make unfamiliar, complex physical movements for him, looks at the things around him with different eyes. His introduction to the new world can be both day and night.

Many children love to play at night, they absolutely do not want to sleep. Given the above facts, one can understand why a child at 4 months does not sleep well at night. During this period, it is not recommended to put him to bed on a schedule, it is better to provide him with freedom of action. So he will behave more adequately.

How should a baby sleep at 9 months?

The set sleep time for a 9 month old baby is 2 hours during the day, 10-12 hours at night. This is already a rather serious age, when the baby becomes relatively calm, follows the established daily routine.

Baby sleep disturbance may be he alth related. Sometimes children wake up in the middle of the night, cannot fall asleep for a long time, thereby reducing the time of night sleep, which leads to lack of sleep. The daily regimen is violated, as the baby tries to sleep off at the expense of daytime.

To identify the causes of irregular night sleep, you need to contact your pediatrician. The examinations carried out will allow to establish why a 9-month-old child sleeps poorly at night. You should not worry if the baby cries in a dream. These are the consequences of childhood experiences, an actively spent day. From time to time, the baby may shudder, which also should not bother parents. His nervousthe system takes a long time to go from wakefulness to sleep.

At the age of 9 months, the baby's nervous system develops intensively, character is formed. Since during the day the baby is emotionally loaded, with difficulty realizing what is happening around him, he instinctively experiences the same thing already at night, in a dream. There is no time for deep sleep.

Influence of food

One of the most important signs of insomnia is an unhe althy diet. When a child does not sleep well at night, for some reason it does not occur to parents that he is simply hungry. Apparently, because there are more serious reasons that caring moms think about in the first place.

However, hunger can make an infant lose sleep. After 6 months, the baby is in the stage of active development and requires a sufficiently saturated diet. Mothers breastfeeding children up to a year old should take into account that breast milk alone with light complementary foods cannot saturate a child. At this age, he can already be given vegetable dishes (mashed potatoes, stews, soups). Many parents are introducing new nutritious foods into toddler mode.

Why does a child sleep poorly both at night and during the day? The main thing is to develop a correct diet, do not feed the baby 15 minutes before going to bed (it doesn’t matter what time of day). The stomach begins to work intensively on the digestion of food, which affects the baby's poor sleep day and night.

The dream of a one-year-old baby

Leading pediatricians believe that at the age of 1 year, sleep plays an important role in the development of the baby, has a special effect on his conditionhe alth. 12 months is the age when the baby's nervous system is fully formed, the behavior is balanced. The night rest of a one-year-old baby is 12 hours. During the day he sleeps no more than 2 hours. After an active day spent in games, he should sleep peacefully all night, but the baby does not sleep. Why is this happening?

Causes of sleep disturbance in a one-year-old baby

Why does a 1 year old baby sleep badly at night? There are many reasons that contribute to the disruption of the night rest of children:

• Usual whims, unwillingness to sleep.
• Stale air in baby's room.
• Nasal congestion making it difficult to breathe.
• Wet diapers.
• Teething.
• Night nightmares.

Naughty children always fall asleep for a long time, sleep badly. They don't want to sleep in their own bed, give them a parent's bed. They do not fall asleep without their favorite toy. It's just a whim.

The baby's room should be regularly ventilated. Before going to bed, check the diaper.

The problem is the process of teething. The baby is tormented by itching in the gums, pain in the tummy, they are especially aggravated at night. Here are the main answers to the question why a child does not sleep well at night. What other reasons are there?

Psychological barrier affecting baby's sleep

During the year the baby has grown, his behavior has changed, he has become more independent in many of his manifestations, but he also needs his mother, as he did at 2 months. Having excluded all the above causes of concern, the mother does not understand why the child often wakes up at night, sleeps poorly. The psychological barrier that the baby himself cannot overcome is very often the cause of a restless night.

At this age, children often have nightmares - dreams that are unusual for a child's brain. In a difficult period for the baby, it is simply necessary to be near him, not to leave him alone at night. Parents need to be in constant close contact with their child. Fear is temporary. The main thing is to be patient and get through this time with your baby.

What causes poor sleep for a two year old

As a rule, at the age of 2, children's sleep is regulated, at night they rest 10-11 hours, sleep relatively calmly, if they are not disturbed by some reasons related to physiology and psychology.

Why does a 2 year old not sleep well at night?

Physiological causes:

• Uncomfortable bed (down pillow or blanket, soft, sagging mattress). The blanket should be light yet warm.
• Uncomfortable nightwear. Pajamas or a nightgown should not cause discomfort. Pajamas for the baby should be chosen free so that it does not restrict movement during sleep. No synthetics. The child should only sleep in cotton night clothes.
• Bright lighting. You can install soft, soothing light from a nightlight in your baby's room to make him feel comfortable and not afraid.
• Loud noise, loud music (even in the next room). But you also don’t need to accustom the baby to complete silence.
• Air temperature in the children's room. She mustbe no more than 18-20 ° С.
• Physical fatigue. During the day, the child gets very tired, whims begin in the evening, it is difficult for him to fall asleep.
• Overeating or, conversely, hunger. The last meal should be no later than 19.00.
• Disturbing baby physical pain, colds. The outward behavior of a child always suggests what is bothering him.

Physiological causes are not difficult to deal with. At the age of two, they do not pose a serious problem. Anxiety is caused by the psychological factor that haunts babies aged 1 to 3 years.

What makes a baby lie wide open in the crib for a long time? Why does a child cry and sleep poorly at night, if he is not disturbed by external factors, is he he althy, active during the day? The baby is disturbed by nightmares, childhood fears - this is mainly his imagination, hidden in the subconscious to manifest itself in a dream. He sees them during a deep sleep, cannot wake up, begins to rush around the bed, cry. It is necessary to gently wake him up, calm him down, try to put him to bed again. In no case should you remind the baby about the night adventure.

Starting from the birth of a baby, parents need to concentrate all their efforts, make every effort to create a noble ground for their beloved child for full development, in which sleep takes first place. Therefore, if you cannot cope with sleep problems on your own, you should definitely contact qualified specialists.