Why does a child fall asleep badly and what to do about it. The baby does not fall asleep well at night - irritants, prevention and treatment

Many parents face the problem of putting their baby to bed. This is due to the fact that the child's psyche is very excitable, and, having played enough and run enough during the day, the baby is often naughty and cannot calm down for a long time. To help the baby relax and fall asleep, child psychologists advise making a ritual out of the process of preparing the child for sleep, which will help the baby tune in to falling asleep.

Cry small child is so far the only way to tell the outside world that everything is not all right with him.

However, poor sleep is not always directly related to health problems. Quite often, violations are caused external causes. For a small child who still has poor control over his emotions, the cause of insomnia or restful sleep there can be an overabundance of impressions, both positive and negative. Changing living conditions also often leads to sleep disturbance - moving to new apartment, the child went to kindergarten, the birth of another child in the family - all this affects emotional condition baby, thereby affecting sleep.

For a child to sleep well at night, he needs daytime sleep. Many mothers after several unsuccessful attempts put the baby to sleep in the afternoon, wave their hand at the situation. Like, he won’t sleep during the day, which means he’ll sleep better in the evening. However, the situation is exactly the opposite. Overexcited during the day, the nervous system does not allow the child to fall asleep for a long time. It seems that he is already rubbing his eyes, and yawns in full, but does not fall asleep in any way. In addition, such a child sleeps restlessly at night - tossing and turning, screaming in a dream.

Let's take a look at the main troubles that can prevent the baby from falling asleep and provoke a cry for help. Consistently, excluding the listed items, you are likely to find the cause of the child's anxiety.

1. The child is hungry.

2. The child is uncomfortable: diapers, clothes interfere, rub the diaper. If you are swaddling your baby, try to free him. Sometimes the baby, on the contrary, may like swaddling, a kind of tightness reminds of her mother's tummy and gives comfort and tranquility.

3. The baby is hot or cold.

4. The most common explanation for the anxiety of a newborn baby is the so-called colic.

5. The baby is teething.

6. Increased cranial pressure always causes children's cries and insomnia. Only a doctor can answer this question by making a procedure for measuring pressure, an EEG.

It is necessary to ensure that the child goes to bed with pleasure and without fear and falls asleep. "Let him scream" advice cannot be accepted. the best choice, as well as the habit of holding the child's hand while he falls asleep. You need to learn to pay attention to the signals of the child, because if he is ready to go to bed, then he will definitely fall asleep. An integral part is the ritual of going to bed, sometimes this procedure can be long, sometimes very short. Children who enjoy falling asleep sleep better through the night.

Children should not watch TV. Generally. Yes, it is very convenient to turn on cartoons for the child, and while he is watching TV, redo his affairs. However frequent change frames have a very negative effect on the psyche of the child. Even cartoons that are harmless from our point of view, which the child has seen more than once, cause emotional instability, thereby affecting the quality of sleep.

Naturally, there are infants for whom all good advice is useless and who during the entire first year of life have big problems with sleep and sleep. Even if it may sound cruel and not like some parents, but the key to solving this problem is in themselves. Most parents find it difficult to be consistent in their actions towards their children, but consistency is necessary in order to finally reign in peace.

Most common cause sleep disorders in children of the first years of life is neuropathy. As a rule, it is accompanied by difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep. A manifestation of neuropathy will also be premature refusal to sleep during the day, usually from 2 or 3 years. Psychologically motivated sleep disturbances are present in emotionally sensitive children, with a tendency to worry and fear.

In case of violations of daytime sleep, any coercion against awake children is unacceptable, even if they are in early age refuse to sleep. Need to strengthen general state the child's body, move more, and contact a specialist in a timely manner.

At night and how to deal with this problem. In addition, we propose to analyze the most popular mistakes of parents that lead to this violation, consider useful advice pediatricians.

The appearance of a child in a family is a great joy, but young parents are tormented by many questions, which are sometimes not so easy to deal with. When the baby is just born, mom and dad have the so-called "golden time" period. The baby is not so active most time to eat and sleep. But when he grows up, the time for sleep decreases, and the baby strives to explore the world. For older children, six hours a day for rest is enough, and sometimes two.

Many children have a very bad attitude to the issue of falling asleep, for some families this becomes the cause of grandiose scandals. This is a big mistake for young families! Instead of dealing with the problem, they begin to sort things out, which, again, does not have a very good effect on the well-being of the baby. What to do in this situation? What methods do doctors recommend? These and many similar questions will be discussed in detail in this article.

Sleep baby

Let's start this section with known fact: a person spends a third of his life in a dream. But we are talking about adults. And the child needs even more rest. As mentioned earlier, newborn crumbs do just that - they sleep and eat. In order to answer our main question- why the child falls asleep badly day and night - it is necessary to deal with the very concept of "sleep".

There are many theories about why sleep is needed. The main one, which will be clear not only to a scientist, but also ordinary person- the theory of the accumulation of fatigue. The thing is that the brain during wakefulness collects a lot of information, from which it gets very tired. In order to remove this fatigue, we sleep.

We can, of course, delve into this problem, to study various studies, where we will find many more reasons why you want to sleep. But perhaps, let's dwell on the clearest and most understandable of them - sleep is necessary for normal life.

A parent's view of a baby's sleep changes as the child grows. Do not forget that sleep for an adult is a way to unload and relax, and for a baby it is also a way to adapt to a new world, a set of strength for further development. Newborn babies normally sleep between eighteen and twenty-two hours a day. A child can wake up only if the next portion of food is needed. A newborn sleeps continuously for no more than two hours. It is important to note that babies do not yet live according to the regimen, and crying, signaling that it is time for feeding, can be heard absolutely at any time of the day.

When does a child start learning to sleep? The older the baby, the longer the duration of one sleep cycle increases, but the intervals between them also increase. For example, at five months, a child sleeps a maximum of four times a day, and the total duration of sleep is about fifteen hours. Now the baby still wakes up at night to have a snack.

Closer to one year, the child can already sleep (without interruption) for about ten hours. That is, night feedings are no longer required. But daytime sleep normally ranges from two to two and a half hours.

Why does the baby not sleep at night?

Now we will identify the main reasons that can be considered the answer to the parents' question: "Why does the child fall asleep badly at night?" Parents of newborns, as a rule, do not face this problem at all. In the first months of his life, the baby can sleep poorly only in the following cases:

he is hungry;
there is external stimuli(music, TV, conversations, light and so on);
the baby is tormented by gaziki;
during teething.

How to deal with these problems, and no need to explain. Eliminate external irritants, feed the baby, give a remedy for gas, use a cooling gel for gums, change diapers.

It is very important for all parents to know that a daily regimen begins to form in crumbs at three months. Do not miss this moment, so that in the future there will not be a lot of problems. The most important thing for a person's sleep (both an adult and a baby) is comfort. It is very important to create in the bedroom suitable for strong, healthy sleep atmosphere:

the correct temperature regime (not lower than sixteen, but not higher than twenty degrees Celsius);
fresh air (be sure to ventilate the room before going to bed);
calm environment (no active games for an hour and a half before bedtime).

In addition, the baby needs to be fed.

As for daytime sleep, if the baby refuses to fall asleep, then you can try a walk in a stroller. Fresh air will help solve this problem.

How to deal with the problem?

After you have figured out why the child does not fall asleep well at night, it is worth thinking about possible way problem solving. Immediately pay attention to the fact that preparing for a night's sleep in children is a whole ritual. It is very important that the baby sleeps fully, especially at night. There are many ways to prepare your baby for sleep. It is also very important that the system that has already been developed does not fail. Otherwise, the baby may confuse day with night, and it will be extremely difficult to return to normal.

So, in the evening we begin preparations. We create an atmosphere of peace, as if everything around is falling asleep: turn off the bright lights, all conversations should be muffled. Also, parents should spend relaxing sessions with the child in the bath. Will be a good substitute light massage. Before going to bed, read a story to your child or sing a lullaby. Many mothers prefer motion sickness, but this is not the best option. If the child is used to falling asleep in motion, then without motion sickness you will not be able to put him to bed further. In addition, babies get used to hands very quickly and do not want to sleep in their cradle. Try to rock the baby to a state of drowsiness, and then transfer it to the crib.

infants

Now let's deal with the question: "Why does a child fall asleep badly at night in a month and up to a year?" The causes of sleep disturbance at this age are very numerous - from the beginning of the disease to the abundance of impressions. Poor sleep is fairly common. infants as a result of a poor day regimen in crumbs. For example, if he sleeps for a very long time in daytime. Once again, we remind you that it is quite easy to confuse day with night, but returning to normal mode causes some difficulties.

Cause bad sleep can serve:

cold;
heat;
hunger;
overfeeding and so on.

It is possible that before 4 months the child does not fall asleep well at night due to intestinal colic. And at an older age, the cause may be unpleasant feeling from cutting teeth.

In addition, poor sleep can be one of the symptoms of a serious illness - rickets, encephalopathy, and so on. In any case, it's worth restoring. children's sleep. After all, its deficiency is very dangerous. This is how many organs and systems are unbalanced, in addition, there is a lack of enzymes and hormones (after all, their production occurs precisely in a dream). Based on what has been said, we can draw a small conclusion: the normalization of sleep is the primary task of all parents, the health of your crumbs depends on it.

one year old baby

At a pediatrician's appointment, mothers are often interested in: why does a child (1 year old) fall asleep badly at night? The first thing to notice experienced specialist- teeth. If they are in this moment they are cut, the gums are swollen, which means that the baby is tormented severe itching and other discomforts.

In addition, there is another reason why a child does not fall asleep well at night at night. The thing is that one-year-old children already understand how interesting and informative the world around them is. Now there is simply no time to sleep, because there is so much time to explore! This is a wrong position and should be explained to the child in a calm tone.

Babies who suffer from lack of sleep are very nervous and moody. To avoid quarrels, it is worth accustoming the child to correct regimen day. In no case should you shout and swear! Try your caress and love to calm the child. This will help:

interesting books with fairy tales;
Lullaby;
relaxing massage;
walk on fresh air.

Find an approach to your baby, then this problem will disappear forever from your calm and measured life.

Two to three years

Now let's take a closer look at another age category. A child does not fall asleep well at night at 2 years old for a variety of reasons that will be discussed in this section of the article.

When a child turns two years old, daytime sleep becomes a real test for parents. Some mothers make the deepest mistake - they refuse to lay the baby at all. This is not true, because now the child is still in great need of daytime rest. afternoon nap promotes normal development and is important for the emotional state.

Why does a 2 year old not sleep well at night? As mentioned earlier, getting ready for bed is a whole ritual, and this age is no exception. No active games, computers, cartoons, bright lights and loud conversations. The best option- a night light, a glass of warm milk, an interesting fairy tale or muffled classical music.

The causes of poor sleep at this age can be:

change of scenery;
quarrel of parents;
the appearance of another child in the family;
first visit to kindergarten;
night terrors;
nightmares and so on.

We will discuss in detail why this is happening. next section articles.

Causes of sleep disturbance

As mentioned earlier, the child does not fall asleep well and does not sleep well at night for a variety of reasons. And they are very different in children up to a year and three-year-olds. Let's say a few words about the latter. Three year olds are much harder to deal with. Why? Let's answer this question: the child becomes more independent and already understands that mom and dad can be manipulated. It is very important not to miss this moment and show who is in charge in the house.

On the other hand, if the child is already relatively adult, it is much easier to identify the reasons why he wakes up in the middle of the night. There are a lot of them, now we list only a small part of them.

Active games before bedtime can invigorate the child. Try to eliminate them, do other things: coloring, reading books, picking up puzzles and so on.
Watching movies and cartoons. The thing is that at the moment there is a release of a large flow of information, which is not needed at all before going to bed. In addition, there may be scary scenes (even in cartoons) that will respond to nightmares.
If the child goes to bed late during the day, the consequence is a late falling asleep at night. Try to normalize the daily routine, then there will be no problems with falling asleep.
Overwork can also cause poor sleep. The thing is that there is an additional surge of emotions (the so-called second wind). Then the child, instead of relaxing, wants to jump, run and have fun.
Perhaps the child has accumulated a lot of energy that he could not use during the day. In this case, the only solution is to spend more time with your child during the day, fool around with him, run, jump, walk more often.
Very long daytime sleep is one of the most common causes of poor sleep at night. Very important! If the baby sleeps for a long time during the day and does not wake up on its own, it is worth waking it up.

As mentioned earlier, these are only a small number of reasons why a baby may suffer from poor sleep. Pay attention to the fact that in case of poor sleep both during the day and at night, you should immediately contact a neurologist. Maybe the reason lies in some kind of disease.

We go to bed

If the child does not fall asleep well at night, do not make scandals. In many cases, it is the parents who are to blame. Mom and dad should learn some rules that will eliminate the crumbs' bad sleep. Let's get started!

Do not disturb the crumbs before going to bed, no active games.
Dads in the evening after work often pamper their child with a new toy. The kid responds to these actions with a sea of emotions that will probably not subside very quickly.
Follow the rules for preparing for bed: a small good fairy tale taking a bath with soothing herbs.
If the child is already in school, it is better to find out why he got a bad grade and have other unpleasant conversations at another time. Do not cause negative emotions before going to bed.
All parents should have one main rule: no cartoons in bed.
You can use good folk recipe to calm down: a glass of warm milk and a little honey.

Try to use these tips, then you will not puzzle over the question of who is to blame and what to do. The child falls asleep badly at night in most cases due to the fault of the parents themselves. Before you look for a problem in the child's behavior, take care of yourself.

Parenting Mistakes

If your child began to fall asleep badly at night, then look in this section for the most popular mistakes of parents. Perhaps you repeat them too? If this is the case, then try to eliminate them, and there will never be any more problems with falling asleep crumbs.

Many parents believe that if the child is put to bed later, then he will sleep better. This is a very big mistake. Optimal time for laying - nine o'clock in the evening. As mentioned earlier, overwork must not be allowed, otherwise everything will turn out completely differently. Pediatricians even advise you to keep a special diary in which to mark the baby's sleep time every day.

Another big mistake is sleeping on the move. If a child gets used to falling asleep like this from childhood, he will demand it in the future. Try to rock the child to a state of drowsiness, and then give him the opportunity to fall asleep in the crib on his own.

Never put your child to sleep with lights, music, TV on. And remember: there is no universal ritual for laying the baby down. Try to find your own approach.

This rather popular doctor also gives some advice. What to do if the child does not fall asleep at night?

It's very important to prioritize. A healthy and happy toddler is, of course, very important. But cheerful and well-rested parents are a guarantee Have a good mood at the toddler. You should not completely adjust your regimen to the child, it is worth showing him that he is not the main one in the family. Make a regimen that would suit absolutely any member of the family.

Another useful tip - no sleeping in a shared bed! The child must have his own bed with an orthopedic mattress. It is necessary to exclude all kinds of downy feather beds and bulky pillows. Follow temperature regime. During sleep, you should use only high-quality tested diapers, the child should not be wet.

Remember that extra daytime sleep is the reason why kids are naughty at night. The more and more actively you move during the day, the more soundly the baby will sleep.

Today, on the site for moms, the site you will find out why the child does not fall asleep well at night. For most parents, this is a very topical problem, because the sleep of all family members depends on the nature of the child’s sleep. Let's try to find a solution.

If a child suffers from insomnia, there are reasons for this. Daily routine, state of health, living conditions - that's what you need to pay attention to if the baby is difficult to put to bed. The causes of sleep disturbance are purely individual for each, but we will list the most typical ones.

Why does the child fall asleep badly at night?

Dr. Komarovsky identifies several enemies of children's sleep:

Lack of desire to sleep.
Hunger, thirst and pain. They prevail over the need for sleep.
Psychological and emotional state of the mother. Scientists have proven that depression, fatigue, Bad mood mothers have a negative effect on the sleep of the child.
Feeling uncomfortable (uncomfortable clothes, wet diapers).
Physical factors (noise, illumination). The child falls asleep badly and for a long time at night, usually due to too high level Noise or bright lights, subdued lights or quiet conversations will not harm his sleep.
Emotional and physical activity. In the evening, the child should be in calm state, overexcitation will not benefit his sleep.

To all of the above, you can add a few more reasons why a child may not fall asleep well at night:

One of them is the absence or violation of the developed ritual of going to bed. The child should have a clear daily routine, especially in the evening. Then certain activities, such as bathing, will be associated with sleep.

Also insomnia may appear during transitional moments, when the baby is about to start walking or talking, or he is teething. This period just needs to be waited out. Sleep will get better.

Changing the situation in the children's room, the child's fear of falling asleep alone can also disturb his peace.

Can interfere with sleep various diseases: asthma, allergies, heartburn, ear infection, colds.

Do not be intimidated by the abundance of reasons why your child does not fall asleep well at night. A site for moms, the site will offer you, perhaps, a universal way to solve the problem.

Conditions that contribute to the rapid fall asleep of the child

Moms, remember! For achievement best result you must comply with one condition: treat the fight against insomnia as a game, and not as a punishment that lies heavily on your fragile shoulders. Over time, you will develop a habit and will perform many routine activities very quickly and easily.

Prerequisites for good sleep

In the room of your offspring, a comfortable temperature should be maintained - 18-20 ° C and air humidity 50-70%. If the room is hot, then the baby may wake up thirsty.
Several times a day, and most importantly, before going to bed, it is necessary to ventilate the room. Children sleep better in a cool room than in a stuffy one.
Before going to bed, it is advisable to do wet cleaning in the nursery.
When feeding your baby in the evening, give preference healthy food: cereals, fruits, dairy products, meat (in small quantities). Do not give sweets at night.
Make sure that the baby splashes out his energy during the day, otherwise the child will have a hard time falling asleep at night or waking up in the middle of the night.
Add sedatives to the water when bathing aroma oils or herbal infusions.
Dress your baby in warm pajamas, change a diaper before going to bed - create comfortable conditions for him.

We have already mentioned above that the child should have a certain ritual of going to bed. Now let's describe it in more detail.

Ritual for a child

Every day, an hour and a half before bedtime, do the following:

take a walk with the child;
feed him;
bathe;
read a fairy tale
dim the lights, put on soft music.

Of course, you can correct and add something of your own to this list. We need to show the basics.

What to do if the child still has trouble falling asleep at night?

Have you tried everything but nothing helps? The main thing is not to be nervous, remember that your mood is transmitted to the child. You do not want to get into a vicious circle?

Here are some more tricks to make your life easier.

Put the child to bed at 7-8 pm, so you will free up the evening and be able to spend time with your husband.
Teach your baby to love his crib - let him play in it.
Give your child as much attention as possible during the day, then he will not consider himself abandoned and be afraid to sleep alone.
When breastfeeding or bottle feeding, place between you and your baby soft toy. Over time, the child will associate her with parental warmth and care, and he will sleep peacefully with her.

We hope that the article “Why does the child fall asleep badly at night” turned out to be useful, and now your baby is sleeping soundly and peacefully.

Sleep is very important for a small child, as it helps a growing body to rest. However, parents often face a situation where the baby falls asleep heavily, is naughty, and cries in the crib.

As a result, we have sleepy children and tired mothers. What to do if the baby tosses and turns for a long time before going to bed, and how to help him fall asleep?

Even if the baby is tired during the day, his eyes stick together, he still stubbornly struggles with drowsiness and refuses to "go into rest mode."

Some children, on the contrary, become even more active and begin to rush around the apartment. To calm down, they need the help of their parents.

However, first you need to know exact reason. The sources of such insomnia are individual for each baby, but we will name the most typical ones.

Why does a child fall asleep with whims?

It must be remembered that difficulties with falling asleep do not arise from scratch. They signal the presence of any diseases, violation of the regimen and lifestyle of the baby.

That is, if the baby does not sleep from birth, perhaps the reason for this is bad condition health.

But if the children always fell asleep quickly, and then for no apparent reason refuse to go to bed, the point here is most likely a change in the daily routine.

That is why it is so important to find the reason why the child has difficulty falling asleep at night.

If the baby plays out before laying down, shows a high motor activity, then with big share the likelihood of his imperfect nervous system "overloading". Of course, in such a state of long and sound sleep out of the question.
Carefully monitor how long it lasts and when your child's daytime rest begins. If the baby goes to bed, for example, at 15.00, and not at 13.00, sleeps a lot during the day, then there is too little time left before night sleep, and therefore there are difficulties with falling asleep.
Eating and fast bedtime are closely related to each other. If the baby is put to bed on an empty stomach, he will not be able to sleep because of the feeling of hunger. And if he falls asleep hungry, he will wake up in the middle of the night and start crying.
If, on the contrary, the baby overeats at dinner, the feeling of heaviness will not allow him to fall asleep. Babies will suffer from colic, and older children will have nightmares.
Another cause of difficulty falling asleep is malaise - heat, abdominal pain, headache. And the baby can cut teeth.
Young children are keenly aware of the emotional state of the mother. Frequent scandals in the family, quarrels and screams lead to emotional excitability, one of the manifestations of which is difficulty falling asleep.
high or low temperature air in the children's room, insufficient humidity are often the reason that the baby does not fall asleep well in the evening.
Excessively bright light of a night lamp or, on the contrary, pitch darkness do not allow children to fall asleep and are another common reason for waking up at night.
The baby is not busy during waking hours vigorous activity or his physical activity is minimal. Agree, a one and a half year old baby who has walked a certain distance with his legs on an evening walk will fall asleep much faster than a butuz who has sat all the time in a stroller.
In the end, children can fall asleep for a very long time if they have an interesting toy with which they have not played enough and do not want to part even at night.

The baby does not fall asleep well at night - what to do?

It is important to remember that when breastfeeding For the baby to fall asleep, the calmness and patience of the mother herself is necessary.

The connection is obvious: the mother is excited or upset - the child also begins to worry. What is it here deep dream! So the first step to fast falling asleep- positive emotional attitude of parents.

In addition, take a closer look at the organization of the leisure time of the baby. While awake, try to keep him busy with some kind of active activity. Don't forget about age-appropriate physical activity- exercising, perhaps swimming in the bathroom.
But do not overdo it - you can’t load the baby with excessive impressions in the evening or offer him outdoor games. It seems to be physically tired, but the overloaded nervous system does not allow you to sleep peacefully.
Try to spend more time outdoors with your child. Such walks provide positive influence on the psyche, help harmonious development and significantly improve children's sleep.
If your child has a hard time falling asleep due to colic, urgently review your own menu and get rid of foods that cause increased gas formation. Yeah, mom's drinking cow's milk often leads to problems with the tummy in the newborn. Give preference to dairy products.
If it's teething, try removing pain gum massage or purchase special anesthetic gels.
Create your own bedtime ritual. For example, tuck into bed after bathing in cool bath. If there is no allergy, add a few drops to the water lavender oil which has a calming effect.
Do not underestimate the conditions in which you put your children to bed. Eliminate loud sounds, bright light and other irritants. Ventilate and, if possible, humidify the room in which the baby sleeps. Remember that carpets, bedside canopies are not desirable in a children's interior, as they are dust collectors.

Helping children ages 1 and older fall asleep at night

As you grow older, some problems are replaced by others. So, in children from three to six years, the most common cause of sleep disturbances are fears and nightmares.

Thus, it is the emotional prerequisites for difficult falling asleep that come to the fore.

Eliminate any factors that lead to overexcitation before falling asleep nervous system. Noisy entertainment, watching TV, visiting places large cluster people - this can excite the baby and prevent him from falling asleep.
Resolve all conflicts well before bedtime. Do not scold the child, and even more so do not use disciplinary measures before bedtime. Postpone unpleasant conversations and showdown until the morning, or better yet, forget about them. The fewer irritants, the easier it is for children to fall asleep.
If your child has a fear of the dark, explain that the baby is safe. Install a night lamp in the room, get rid of unnecessary noise, buy blackout curtains, in general, create calm atmosphere. Sit next to the baby while he falls asleep.
Also try to offer your baby a soft toy that he can put in his crib. Explain that a plush friend will protect the baby from bad dreams.

If your child does not sleep well at night, remember that your the main task– stay calm, patient and love your little capricious baby.

Only in this case a good sleep is guaranteed for the whole family!

Other related information

Attention impairment in children with hyperactivity
"How not afraid of the doctor?"
Notes from an Attentive Parent. Anxiety! Autism…

It always worries parents, especially when the baby sleeps restlessly or wakes up constantly and requires attention. Reference books, magazines and manuals give an idea of the norms of daytime and nighttime sleep for children different ages, but in many cases the child does not match them.

It happens that the baby cannot fall asleep for a long time, and laying in the crib lasts for hours. Or he wakes up in the middle of the night, not wanting to sleep any longer. Parents, especially young ones, may panic in such a situation, not knowing what to do. The child does not sleep at night, and the whole family does not sleep with him. Or only the mother falls under the blow of lack of sleep, and during the day she no longer has enough strength to fully communicate with the baby.

Let's try to figure out why the child does not sleep at night. After all, not only parents, but he himself suffers from lack of sleep, depriving him of proper rest and recuperation.

Sleep norms: how much sleep should a child

The duration of a child's sleep at night directly depends on his age. Not knowing how much a child should sleep during the day, it's easy to panic and start worrying for no reason.

So, usually a dream has the following duration:

a baby who is one year old sleeps 11.5-12 hours at night and up to 2.5 hours during the day;
at three years old night sleep is reduced to 11 hours, and the daytime lasts up to 1.5 hours;
a child of garden age gets enough sleep at night for 10-11 hours, and rests for about an hour during the day.

Deviations from these indicators for one or two hours should not become a problem, because any person is individual. But there are situations in which it is worth thinking about what to do: the child does not sleep at night, falls asleep around midnight, is naughty, “squeezes out” tears from himself.

The importance of daytime sleep

Sleep in the middle of the day is often not considered important, and parents sacrifice it. Thus, the child is encouraged by replacing sleep with entertainment.

Another goal is to tire the fidget in search of a solution to the problem of how to put the child to bed at night without tears and whims. It is believed that a tired child will gladly go to bed early and sleep longer.

The situation is actually the opposite. The nervous system of a child is overloaded and overexcited during a long active day. It is difficult for the baby to calm down due to disturbed inhibition processes, he falls asleep with great difficulty and at the wrong time.

Pediatricians note that an hour's rest during the day is useful even for schoolchildren to recuperate. After that, homework is completed faster and more carefully. And for a child of 4-5 years old, a “quiet hour” is simply necessary.

If a preschooler does not sleep during the day, at night he may be disturbed by nightmares and urinary incontinence. The child receives additional stress in kindergarten when daytime sleep is perceived as a punishment and an encroachment on freedom.

Why the child does not sleep at night: causes in newborns

In children under six months of age frequent waking up due to the characteristic alternation of periods of sleep. Superficial sleep prevails over deep, especially when the child is a month old. A healthy baby does not sleep at night different reasons both physiological and psychological.

Many babies are unable to fall asleep on their own after waking up at night, and those who are breastfed wake up to receive a serving of food. Sometimes for a restful sleep, it is enough for a child to sleep with their parents - tactile contact and warmth help the baby fall asleep faster and feel protected.

If waking up is too frequent, it is important to establish the cause of what is happening and decide what to do. The child does not sleep at night for the following reasons:

During feedings, when the baby drinks too quickly, air bubbles accumulate in his intestines, leading to painful colic.
Stuffiness in the room, dry and overheated air (temperature above 22 ° C).
Parents put the child to bed in accordance with their regimen after 22 pm.
The baby's diaper is full or the diaper is wet.
The beginning of the development of the disease.
The baby is thirsty or hungry.
In the room where the child sleeps, there are light and sound stimuli, for example, a working TV.
Tension or conflict between parents.
Various disorders of the nervous system.
Teething.

It is very important that the atmosphere of relationships in the family be calm and friendly, parents should not allow serious conflicts. Otherwise, all the mother's worries are transmitted to the baby, and he becomes nervous, restless.

If a clear reasons bad sleep could not be detected on its own, you should seek help from a pediatrician or show the child to a neurologist. Some disorders of the nervous system go hand in hand with sleep disturbance.

Peaceful sleep of a baby

If a newborn child does not sleep at night or wakes up often, sometimes it is enough to create for him certain conditions for a comfortable sleep. Doctors say that best way rock the baby - imitate his stay in his mother's tummy:

limit space (wrap well with a diaper, and then with a blanket);
ensure the closeness and warmth of the mother;
to vilify him in his arms, shaking to the beat of his steps.

When the child wakes up in the crib, it is important not to leave him alone for a long time, but to calm him down and help him fall asleep again.

To improve the quality of a baby's nighttime sleep, it is advised to maintain tactile contact with him during the day. Stroking and hugging relieve excess tension from the muscles and calm the nervous system.

Works great and preventive massage, consisting of light strokes, which the mother makes to the baby daily.

How to deal with colic

The most common reason restless sleep in newborns - abdominal pain, or infantile colic. The digestive system is in its infancy in the first few months of life, and accumulations of gas in the intestines cause excruciating spasms.

Intestinal colic makes the child's sleep short, superficial and intermittent. To reduce the impact of this condition on sleep, it is worth following certain recommendations:

A mother who is breastfeeding should follow a diet and not get carried away with foods that provoke gas formation in a child (limit fresh cabbage and tomatoes, replace whole milk fermented milk products, exclude legumes).
Several times a day, lay the baby on the tummy on a warm diaper folded several times (15 minutes each).
After feeding, for a while (about 20 minutes), hold the baby in vertical position for air bubbles to leave the stomach.

It is possible to normalize bowel function with the help of special preparations. But give them to the baby only on the recommendation of a pediatrician.

Why does a child not sleep at night

After a year, the child's diet is rapidly expanding, he tries new dishes, unusual foods and, in general, eats coarser food than before. Adaptation digestive system does not always go smoothly, new reasons for nighttime anxiety may appear:

gas formation;
stomach ache;
an allergic reaction to new foods (itching).

Other causes of restless sleep in a child that need to go to the doctor are headaches, night terrors combined with enuresis, nasal congestion and sore ears.

And if there are no diseases - what to do? Baby don't sleep at night though medical problems not found. Causes and solutions may lie on the surface, one has only to look closely at the lifestyle of the family. So, a grown-up baby over a year old may not sleep at night if:

Not established regime day when the child gets up late, does not sleep during the day, and then lies down to take a nap in the evening. As a result - difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep.
The child is rarely outdoors. Optimal - a combination of walking with physical activity.
Shortly before sleep, the baby experiences strong emotions, shocks (joyful fuss with laughter, severe disappointment or fear with tears, horror stories, horror).
Too hot or too cold in a child's bedroom, dry air (may cause pain on the nasal mucosa).
The bedtime does not correspond to the child's own biorhythms ("owl" or "lark").
There is a computer or TV next to the bed.
Cartoons and programs are viewed before going to bed.
Linen and blanket are not suitable for the season or the bed is uncomfortable.

If one or more reasons are identified, parents and all households will have to change their vision of evening activity and the child's involvement in it in order to make his sleep calm and give strength for the next day.

Psychological causes of sleep disorders in children

Restless and interrupted sleep in a child may be the result of significant changes for him in the family, relationships, lifestyle. This may be a change of residence, the purchase of new furniture, as well as the appearance of a brother or sister. A child can be greatly affected by the fact of his moving to his own bed for the night, if he used to peacefully sniff at his parents' side every night.

The key to solving the problem is maximum patience and endurance. The child will need to explain positive sides changes in life, calmly perceive his awakening and affectionately, but persistently, put him to bed again and again. When the baby is finally able to convince that nothing terrible is happening, his sleep will improve.

If the child does not want to sleep alone at night, is too sensitive to the conditions around him, quickly “turns on” and is difficult to calm him down, constantly asks for hands, then we are talking about the so-called excitable type. Such children require a special approach in communication and education at any age, as well as increased expenditure of time and effort on the part of parents. It is not for nothing that in the books of the American pediatrician William Sears they are called "children with increased needs."

AT this case sleep problems in infancy arise due to excessive stress and muscle tightness. Before going to bed, the baby is bathed in water with the addition of coniferous extract, motherwort infusion or essential lavender oil (all only after consulting a doctor), gently stroking the back, legs, and arms.

It makes sense to take the time to accustom the baby to independent sleep in a separate bed or buy a cradle with a removable wall, which is attached to the parent's bed.

For older children with increased needs (2-5 years old), a strong impressionability is characteristic, because of which the baby worries a lot, he often has nightmares, or he simply cannot fall asleep due to anxious thoughts. How to improve sleep:

Put the baby's crib in the parents' bedroom, not in a separate room.
Organize the child's leisure so that he spends a lot during the day physical strength, but not overexcited emotionally (swimming pool, hiking).
Dose educational and developmental activities, avoiding fatigue, otherwise the baby will become capricious and intractable.
All trips to visit, visits to crowded places, festive events should be shifted to the first half of the day.

The attentiveness and patience of parents in relation to an excitable child can give the whole family a healthy restorative sleep.

Banish fears

It happens that the child wakes up at night and does not sleep because of fears. If he was impressed by the tale of Baba Yaga or saw unpleasant characters in a horror movie, it may seem to him as if they were hiding in the closet or under the bed.

No persuasion helps, measures must be "decisive". First you need to find out what or who exactly the child is afraid of, and then jointly develop a plan to eliminate night fears.

Means tested by many parents help:

leave the night light on;
instruct the baby's favorite toy to guard him and seat him next to the crib;
hang a "repeller" of monsters - a bell, ringing tubes, a dream catcher.

Toddlers are susceptible to repetitive rituals, so you can cast a protective spell every day before going to bed or treat the room with monster spray (pour water with a few drops of lavender oil into an empty spray bottle). One of the methods will definitely work.

Pillow under the ear

A place to sleep should be properly organized. It is not in vain that parents wonder which pillow is best for sleeping for a child, how warm the blanket should be and how soft the mattress should be. An uncomfortable or hot bed can cause you to wake up and cry at night, and a pillow that is too big can lead to neck tension and headaches.

Just a pillow for babies is not needed at all, instead it is recommended to put a diaper folded four times under the head. The fact is that the proportions of the head and body of the baby leave the neck of the child even if he lay down on his side. You can buy a flat baby pillow at 1.5-2 years.

The mattress in the crib is selected quite hard, with orthopedic properties. Soft perinka can adversely affect the formation of the spine, in addition, it will be hot for a child immersed in fluff.

It is important to choose a blanket according to the season and remember that overheating during sleep is harmful for a child. Hypothermia also does not bode well, so it is better for the baby to sleep in pajamas so that he does not freeze when he opens up at night.

How to put a child to sleep without whims

The task of parents is to teach the child to fall asleep independently at the same time. For a healthy and restful sleep, the regime is important. You can access it by fulfilling certain conditions:

Set a signal for the start of preparation for bed and a certain ritual (collect toys, drink milk, brush your teeth). You need to run this program every night at the wake of the alarm clock or mom's command.
To increase level physical activity during the day (and walk in the fresh air), so that the child goes to bed "working up" a dream.
Limit the burden on the psyche of the child. A very emotional activity is sitting at the TV or computer. All screens must be turned off at least one and a half hours before bedtime.

You can start small, gradually building up and honing your evening program of action.

Help for parents

A few more tips, a kind of checklist for good night:

add to bath coniferous extract- it relaxes and soothes;
give before bed warm milk with honey or brew herbal tea. For a good sleep, a drink with mint, fennel, chamomile is suitable for a child;
ventilate the nursery before going to bed;
perform actions evening ritual in strict sequence, do not give indulgences, because novelty means stress.
choose calm games for the evening, read a good book.

Parents will also have to make an effort: turn off the TV, moderate activities in order to create an atmosphere of calm in the house.

The power of a lullaby

And finally, an unsurpassed way to calm a child is to sing him a lullaby. The measured and calm mother's voice lulls, sets in a calm way. The child does not care about the purity of hitting the notes or the correctness of the melody, but if the mother does not like to sing, a computer or music center will help out. In advance, you can create a playlist where music for children to sleep will be recorded: healing, soothing, relaxing.

These can be lullabies (native and peoples of the world), sounds of nature, adapted classics or the sound of the surf. White noise works well - a kind of chaos of sound, one of the variants of which is the sound of rain.