What to do if the child does not sleep: reasons, tips and tricks

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

Restless sleep in children is a fairly common problem. But many parents dream of their baby getting enough sleep on his own and letting adults rest. However, this does not always happen in real life. Although, according to many pediatricians, after six months of his life, the child can already sleep almost all night and not wake up his mother several times to give him food.

What can cause such a problem, what should be done to fix it?

Phases of baby sleep

It is especially important for babies to rest. After all, it is during such hours that they grow and develop. This is especially important for babies. At this age, the brain develops in a dream, immunity is strengthened, psychological unloading occurs, etc. In addition, it is at night, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., that the hormone responsible for growth is produced in the child's body.

There are 2 phases of sleep. One of them is fastthe second is slow. They change approximately every hour.

1. Rapid sleep. This phase is characterized by the fact that the baby involuntarily moves his arms and legs, as well as his eyeballs. During REM sleep, the baby sometimes opens its mouth and eyes. During this phase, the baby's brain processes the information that has been received by him throughout the day. This period takes up about half the rest of the little man.
2. Deep sleep. The slow phase begins 20 or 30 minutes after falling asleep. At this time, the child rests and grows. Deep sleep helps the baby to restore his strength. Simultaneously with growth in children, certain structures are formed in the brain. This allows for longer periods of deep sleep.

Normal sleep comes to a child, as a rule, after 2-3 years of age. And by the age of five, the duration of his fast phase does not differ from the “adult” one.

Features of baby sleep

Awakening a child in the early stages of his life is associated with the desire to eat. At the same time, the newborn does not distinguish the time of day. Children aged 1-6 months make intervals between sleep equal to 1-2 hours. Further, the rest time of babies decreases. From 6 to 9 months of their lives, they are in the crib during the daytime twice, approximately 3 hours each.

A baby of 9-12 months normally sleeps twice during the day for 2.5 hours. From a year to three years, children, in addition to the night, rest for 2-3 hours. And they move on their own.only for one nap during daylight hours.

All these data are approximate. Moreover, the duration of daytime sleep depends on various factors.

The usefulness of such a rest is the key to the normal development of the baby. The main task of parents in this case is the correct organization of the daily routine. This will prevent the baby from being forced to go to bed. He must want to sleep during the day himself.

Daytime nap

Children who are not yet a year old have a rest not only at night. They sleep during the day, and sometimes more than once. What to do if a child who is over a year old does not sleep during the day? Such children are already quite capable of resting only at night. That is why it is not worth forcing them to go to bed during the day. The most important thing at the same time is that the child spends the number of hours necessary for his age in sleep during the day.

And if the baby does not reach its norm and at the same time the parents see that the child does not sleep well during the day, what to do in such a situation? First of all, moms and dads should find out the reason for this phenomenon. This will allow the situation to be corrected. The most common causes of poor daytime sleep are:

1. Wrong routine. What to do if the child does not want to sleep during the daytime? If this happens, then parents should estimate the time when they begin to put the baby to bed. The optimal periods for this are 8.30 - 9 o'clock, as well as 12.30 - 13 o'clock. It is important that the morning rise of the crumbs be no later than 7 o'clock. In this case, he will be able to accumulate fatigue so thatwant to rest during the day.
2. A sharp transition from one activity to another. What to do if the child does not want to sleep during the day? Parents need to remember that children are very curious and active. The daytime hours for them are a time of running and discovering, laughter and tears, games, fun and songs. And kids are just learning to manage their emotions, including switching them. That is why, when mom says that it's time to sleep, the child protests, wanting to continue playing and having fun. In order to put him to bed during the daytime, it is necessary to adhere to a consistent and constant ritual. Of course, this should not be a long reading of books, the process of bathing, putting on pajamas, etc. Only some elements from a long evening procedure can be transferred to daytime sleep. Parents should be aware that children are not very good with time. They only pay attention to the sequence of events.
3. Light and noise. What to do if the child sleeps very badly during the daytime? Concerned about this problem, parents should create an appropriate environment for their crumbs. If the room can hear the sounds of life bubbling outside the window and the sun is shining brightly, then appropriate measures should be taken. For example, curtain the windows. Especially for this, cassette blinds made of opaque fabric can be purchased. They won't let the sun in. In extreme cases, you can tape a thick blanket or black garbage bags to the window with tape. White noise will help to fight the sounds from the street. This is what they call a group of sounds generalized in theircyclical and monotonous. Such noise will create a background that will absorb anything that can disturb the baby.
4. Early transition from twice a day to bed. It is necessary to switch to the mode of one sleep during the day when the child is 15-18 months old. But if the baby is not ready for such a change, then his body, which has not yet become stronger, simply cannot withstand a long period of wakefulness. That is why the child should sleep twice during the day as long as possible. If parents see that his first dream begins to interrupt the afternoon, then his time should be limited to one hour. But, nevertheless, the child should continue to rest twice.

Sleep phase tracking

From the very birth to 3-4 months, the baby rests for 16-18 hours during the day. At the same time, the rhythms of his sleep are in no way connected with the change of night and day. If the child has no deviations in the state of he alth, then he calms down after eating. He wakes up, only hungry, forcing his parents to pay attention to himself with loud crying.

Frequent awakenings of the baby cause moms and dads to panic. They begin to wonder: “Why is a newborn baby not sleeping, what should I do about it?” Parents need to understand that such a regimen, as well as nightly feedings of a baby, is the norm. It's not worth worrying about this. But intermittent and sensitive sleep, which is typical for babies and does not affect their he alth, can exhaust parents. And that's not good either.

If a child does not sleep well in a month, what should I do? Parents will needadapt to the peculiarities of the rest of their child. In the first months of a little man's life in his sleep, the duration of the fast phase is approximately 60-80%. If we compare this value for adults, then it is equal to 20%.

Parents should watch their baby. They can see how his slightly parted eyelids twitch as he falls asleep. Under them, you can observe the movement of the pupils. The infant's breathing is irregular. He moves his legs, arms, and sometimes even smiles. During this period, babies dream. If something disturbs the newborn at such a time, he will quickly wake up.

When the phases change, which will occur after 15-20 minutes, the baby's breathing evens out. It becomes deeper. At the same time, the heart rate decreases, the movements of the arms, legs and eyes stop. It is quite difficult to wake up a baby in slow wave sleep.

Based on this, if in 1-4 months the child does not sleep well, what should parents do? Wait for the transition from the fast phase to the slow one. Only after that the baby should be put in the crib. But if this is done a little earlier, then the baby will definitely wake up. Putting him down again for moms and dads will be quite problematic.

Emotional overload

What to do if the child does not sleep? Often, parents receive complaints that their child was fine with a rest of up to 6-8 months, and after that the baby seemed to have been replaced. He began to toss and turn and wake up, and sometimes even gets on all fours or crawls in the crib, not opening whenthis eye.

What to do if the child does not sleep well at this age? Parents don't have to worry. The above is completely normal. From about six months of his life, the baby has to learn many skills to control his own body and movements every day. All this is accompanied by a mass of emotions. The nervous system analyzes such impressions during sleep at night. She carefully works out and remembers the smallest details. That is why a child in a dream sometimes makes attempts to crawl on all fours, and sometimes even walk, whimper and laugh.

What to do if the child does not sleep well? In the event that during the day the baby is alert and he althy, he has a good appetite and there are no signs of illness, parents are not recommended to intervene in this situation. Similar advice applies to the baby's nighttime shudders, which also cause panic. This is not a deviation from the norm. The startling of a child is the result of the functioning of the nervous system during REM sleep. Most often, such muscle contractions are observed in children under one year of age, if they are easily excitable or have experienced emotional events, such as joy, resentment or hysteria. As a rule, with age, such phenomena progressively decrease.

Sometimes parents complain that the baby is crying and not sleeping. What to do with a baby who is naughty at night? The reasons for this state also lie in an overabundance of emotions during the daytime and evening hours. Parents should analyze the daily routine of their child and transfer noisy fun to moreearly period. This will avoid overexciting the baby's nervous system before bedtime.

He alth problems

If the child does not sleep well at night, what should I do? Parents need to pay attention to the he alth of the child. Moms and dads sometimes don't know what to do. The baby does not sleep at 2 months. The reason for this may be colic. Sometimes they begin in babies from 2-3 weeks from birth and bother them up to 3 months. Sometimes this period can stretch for a longer time. In this case, the baby will suffer from colic up to 5-6 months. If for this reason the child sleeps little, what should I do? Colic will disturb babies less often if a breastfeeding mother does not consume cucumbers and whole milk, peas and carbonated drinks, beans and white cabbage, bell peppers and pears, grapes and raisins during the first months of the baby's life. Those children who eat artificial mixtures are given sour-milk mixtures along with the usual ones for colic. Thanks to this combined nutrition, the intestines of the baby produce special enzymes. They serve as the components that allow food to be digested well.

Another cause of restless sleep can be teething. What to do if the child does not sleep for this reason? Parents in such a difficult period for the baby should adhere to the usual daily routine for their child. When carrying out the ritual of laying, you should devote more time to relaxing and calming the baby. You also need to monitor the total sleep time during the day.

During teething, mothers shouldknow that their child may need additional feeding. This is especially true at night. After all, babies tend to lose their appetite during teething and eat less throughout the day.

What to do if the child does not sleep at night? In the event that the cause of this condition is teething, during the day the baby should be offered special teethers. They will help relieve pain. In addition, on the recommendation of a pediatrician, specially designed medicines can be used to normalize the sleep of an infant. They relieve the pain of teething and provide a long period of restful sleep.

Discomfort conditions

What to do if the baby is awake, naughty and tossing and turning in the crib? A similar reaction can be caused by uncomfortable clothing, pressing seams or lacing.

Sleep is disturbed even if the air in the sleeping room is dry and warm. This leads to drying of the nasal mucosa. As a result, the child's breathing becomes difficult. It can be hot and uncomfortable for a baby even when caring adults cover him with a blanket. It also leads to reduced sleep quality.

In order to remedy the situation, parents need to maintain the optimum temperature in the room. In this case, the thermometer should be at around 18-20 degrees, and the humidity should be about 40-60%. In the absence of a comfortable microclimate in the room, it is recommended to ventilate the bedroom well before going to bed.

Babies under three years of age may wake up several times during the night. And this is the norm for children of this age. Parents should not worry about this. However, if such awakenings are too painful for moms and dads, then you need to try to normalize the baby’s sleep. To do this, the first step is to analyze the menu of the crumbs. The baby needs to eat well during the day. This will prevent him from waking up at night from hunger. In the evening, at the same time, parents should include bread and cereal, cheese and yogurt, fruits and an egg in the diet of crumbs.

Behavioral insomnia

Such a violation in infancy can be identified if the child has difficulty falling asleep and is not able to independently maintain a long sleep.

As a rule, babies older than 3-4 months of age wake up when an irritating factor occurs, and after it disappears, they continue their rest without the help of their parents. This does not happen with those children who have increased excitability. They cannot continue their interrupted sleep without their mother. At the same time, each time they require prolonged motion sickness and the presence of adults.

Often, behavioral insonomia occurs when a child is overworked, as well as in case of an overabundance of his daytime emotions. In this case, sleep disturbances are noted in the first half of the night. At the same time, the child may wake up from steps or from the slightest noise. Parents will have to put him to bed after that for at least 30-40 minutes.

Incorrect organization of the regime

What to do, the child does not sleep well in a year and even after that?Experts note that the most common cause of this phenomenon is the mistakes of parents when they organize the baby's regimen. This includes falling asleep in bed only with mom or in her arms, mandatory rocking or feeding, holding a finger in her mouth, etc. All of these factors are classified as bad habits that lead to sleep disorders. In such situations, the baby, who is prevented from resting, will no longer be able to fall asleep on his own. He will demand from his mother to ensure that the rituals familiar to him are carried out. For parents, such nights turn into a nightmare. And all this can last more than one year.

To correct the situation will allow a gradual change in the stereotypes of going to bed and night behavior. It is worth stopping rocking the baby, offering him a drink, etc. And in the case when the child woke up and began to cry, it is recommended to gradually increase the time intervals for the “arrival of help.”

Confusion of day and night

Their internal biological rhythm plays a big role in the life of babies. So, there are children - "owls" and "larks". Sometimes the regime that is given to the child by the parents does not coincide with its biological rhythm. And then adults are tormented by the following question: “What to do, the child goes to bed late?” And he just has no desire to go to bed early. In the morning it is quite difficult for him to wake up. In addition, there is a mixture of all sleep processes - day and night. The result of such failures is the occurrence of disturbances in the work of the whole organism. The child is often naughty, loses his appetite. He is weakeningimmunity. The long course of such a process leads to problems that only a doctor can help get rid of.

Only the joint efforts of parents and family members, as well as unquestioning observance of the established regime, can eliminate such a cause of violations. The most effective method of restoring sleep is increased physical activity for the crumbs, daytime walks with strict adherence to bedtime, as well as waking up.

Presence of pathology

Sleep disturbances in a child can be signs of serious illness. The baby in such cases wakes up at night and cries. Moreover, in his sobs you can hear great tension and drama, irritability and suffering, monotony and monotony. Painful screams are often combined with pronounced muscle tension, motor excitement, and also with a change in the color of the skin. Parents should be aware that, unlike crying, which occurs with behavioral disorders, when a mother can rock the baby, pathological tears are very difficult to calm down. Even with the use of all sorts of tricks and means by parents, it is almost impossible to lull a child. If he falls asleep, it is only for a short time. After that, sobs flare up with renewed vigor.

In such situations, moms and dads should not rely on their own experience and intuition. The child needs to be shown to the pediatrician.