Why daytime sleep is important for your baby and ways to improve it

How often have you come across parents who argue that it is best to keep a baby up during the day as it makes for better sleep at night?

Well, this is certainly one myth that is worth busting. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite is true. Sleep begets sleep and a baby who is not sleeping during the day will probably struggle to fall asleep at night or will not have good-quality sleep during the night.

The smaller your baby, the more sleep he or she needs during the day, and it is suggested that newborns should sleep from six to nine hours a day.

As your baby grows older, the need for daytime sleep gradually decreases and it is only at the age of 2½ years that a select few toddlers are ready to drop their daytime sleep – even then, some quiet time is recommended.

Naturally, children differ and some toddlers may even have to take naps until they are five years old.

What happens to an overtired baby?

Not letting your child get enough sleep during the day will cause overtiredness and this makes for a child who is cranky and fussy.

Normally, these babies feed badly as well.

An overtired child becomes so physically exhausted that his or her body triggers a stress response. Cortisol is produced and baby goes into fight-or-flight mode. This then makes it tremendously difficult to get the child to sleep at bedtime, which causes baby to become more overtired.

In addition, daytime sleep is supposed to count towards the daily quota of sleep a child needs. There are only so many hours in a night and getting enough sleep in each 24-hour window is crucial for your child’s healthy development.

The benefits of good sleep for a child include, but are not limited to:

• Improved attention
• Overall improved mental and physical health
• -Improved behaviour
• -Improved learning

A lack of proper sleep for your little one could cause diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, depression, heart and other illnesses.

Tips for daytime sleeping:

1. First, it is important that babies have age-appropriate awake times. A newborn, for example, should only be awake for approximately 45 minutes between naps, whereas an eight-month-old can go with about three hours’ awake time. Know the appropriate awake time for your baby’s age and stick to it to prevent overtiredness. Also, be sure to watch out for cues that your baby is becoming tired.
2. Create an ideal sleeping environment for your child to make naps easier for them. Babies sleep best in darkened rooms with regulated temperatures that are neither too hot nor too cold.
3. Take some time to wind down before naptime. Do a calming activity with your child.
4. Blank out noises that may be disturbing. White noise is an excellent tool as it is also soothing to a baby.
5. Make sure your baby’s nutritional needs are met. A well-fed baby sleeps much better.
6. Make sure that smaller babies are properly winded to avoid discomfort while sleeping.
7. When the time is right, teach your baby self-soothing skills as this helps them to link sleep cycles and achieve the required, longer naps.

– Sunette Joubert is a Good Night consultant