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UNDERSTANDING SLEEP

Circadian Rhythm

During the first few months of their life your baby’s sleep schedule will be largely dictated by their feeding pattern. However, as they are able to go longer between feeds you can start establishing their circadian rhythm. In a nutshell, this means teaching your baby the difference between day and night.


One way you can do this is by ensuring your baby gets plenty of daylight, particularly in the morning, so that they produce lots of cortisol, the hormone that promotes wakefulness.

  
It is equally important that your baby sleeps in a dark and quiet environment during the night so that they produce melatonin, the hormone that induces relaxation and sleep. 

SLEEP CYCLES

Newborn sleep cycle

Graphic depicting a newborn sleep cycle, with REM sleep and deep sleep stages.

 Learning about sleep cycles can help you understand your child's sleep needs and steer you towards  implementing an age-appropriate routine.


In newborn babies there are just two stages in the sleep cycle, these are rapid eye movement (REM) and deep sleep. During REM sleep you may notice your baby twitching, their eyes might move around under their lids and their breathing might accelerate. During deep sleep your baby will be very still and quiet.


You will probably find that regardless of which of these stages your baby is in they will sleep soundly irrespective of environment and length of sleep.

4 month plus sleep cycle

Graphic depicting 4 month and older sleep cycle including four stages of sleep.

At around four months old your baby's sleep starts to look more like yours as it develops into a four-stage cycle. During this transition your baby will experience lighter stages of sleep, may wake more easily and, if they are not able to self settle, a baby that was once a 'good sleeper' may appear to regress.


Without support or guidance you may find that this adjustment period can last anywhere up to six weeks, however, our gentle sleep plans enable you to managed these adjustments quickly.


  The good news is that during this transition you may also find that your baby begins to sleep for longer periods during the night and shorter periods during the day. 

how we can help

our top tips for getting your child to sleep

Clock, calendar, pins and post-it notes to depict scheduling.

Schedule

surroundings

surroundings

Implementing a daily routine with regular waking, meal, play and nap times will make your child feel secure and will help develop their understanding and expectations of daily life.


We recommend doing the same things in the same order each night e.g. bath, book, bed. This will act as a cueing system in your child's brain and they will know that sleep is coming at the end of it. 

Close up of baby asleep in the dark with hands to face.

surroundings

surroundings

surroundings

 Your child's sleep environment should be dark, quiet and kept at a temperature of about 16 to 20C. Blackout curtains can be used to help block out daylight and white noise can be a good way to drown out disruptive sounds. 


Ideally you want your child to understand that it is a place to sleep and not play. As such, we recommend removing toys from reach before bedtime or keeping in an alternative space. 

Baby awake on their back, in nappy, looking at camera.

self-soothing

self-soothing

self-soothing

If your child regularly wakes in the night then self-soothing is key to them being able to re-settle and sleep independently. 


This can be difficult for both you and your child  but with the proper guidance and support self-soothing can be established quickly and consistently using gentle methods. 

Child sitting surrounded by cuddly toys and teddy bears looking at a tablet screen

screens

self-soothing

self-soothing

You should turn off all screens at least 1 hour before bedtime in order to reduce the amount of blue light your child is exposed to.  Blue light from screens can suppress the sleep hormone, melatonin, and delay sleepiness. Whereas, keeping lights dim encourages melatonin production and causes your child to become sleepy and relaxed.

common sleep problems

 We know what it is like, the clock says 4am and you haven't yet slept, your child won't settle and you are starting to feel desperate. So you try a feed, a dummy, a cuddle, or bringing the little one in to bed with you, just as a one off of course! 


But before you know it your 'one off' has become something your child now relies on to sleep, the evenings are no longer your own and you spend your nights yo-yoing to re-settle them or giving up and bringing them into bed with you.


At this point they may sleep like a log but you will spend the next few hours asking yourself how something so small can take up so much space? What causes them to radiate so much heat? And why oh why must their pokey little toes be in permanent contact with your skin?   


Rest assured, you are not alone, we have all been there. Take a look at this video and you will see that your child's sleep problems are far more common than you might realise. 

The good news is, it doesn't have to be this way for much longer. We can help you reclaim your evenings and ensure you get a good night's sleep without having to forfeit space in your bed.

how we can help

Our trusted sources

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/baby-sleep

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/healthy-sleep-habits-how-many-hours-does-your-child-need.aspx 

https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/

https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/procedures-and-treatments/sleep-hygiene-children/  

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