Four strange baby sleep habits explained
As long as your baby seems comfortable, these odd – but normal – sleeping habits are nothing for parents to lose sleep over.
All parents understand how vital it is for their child to sleep well, but the truth is that while there are “textbook” techniques to sleep, they don’t always work out.
Your child will be one-of-a-kind, with their own sleeping habits. While some of them may be cause for concern, the majority of mildly strange sleeping habits are quite harmless. We look at some of the most prevalent “abnormal” sleeping behaviours and discuss what they could signify.
Does your baby rock or bang their head?
“About 5 – 10% of children will bang or roll their heads before falling asleep,” say authors Megan Faure and Ann Richardson in their book Sleep Sense. This type of behaviour typically starts around 6 months and slows or stops at around age three.
In the book, Faure and Richardson explain that some babies use this movement to self-regulate when they feel overstimulated and over-tired. Your little one’s head is quite tough, so while you might be concerned that his habit can hurt him, rest assured that he’ll stop on his own if the banging becomes too painful.
Are there pauses in your baby’s breathing?
You may notice that your baby sometimes stops breathing for a few seconds while sleeping. This is normal. Babies usually have a period of rapid breathing followed by a period of slow breathing, then a brief pause of up to ten seconds.
According to www.whattoexpect.com, a newborn’s normal rate of breathing is about 40 breaths a minute while he’s awake, but this may slow by half once he’s asleep. Or, he might speed up the pace, taking shallow, rapid breaths for 15 to 20 seconds followed by a total pause in which he stops breathing entirely.
This happens because the part of your baby’s brain that controls breathing is still developing. As long as your baby seems comfortable and he isn’t gasping for air, and his fingernails and lips don’t change colour, don’t worry. His sleep-time breathing pattern will become more regular as he gets older – usually by four to six months.
Does your baby sweat during sleep?
In some cases, sweating is nothing to worry about, but sometimes it can be a sign of a serious condition. We all sweat during the transitions between different sleep stages, but babies sweat more because they sleep between 16 to 18 hours every day and their sleep cycles are shorter.
According to www.livestrong.com, some babies are prone to profuse sweating during very deep sleep, to the point where they wake up completely drenched. If this is the case with your baby, you probably don’t have anything to worry about.
Top tip: Be careful not to bundle your baby too warmly at night and make sure that his room is not too hot either. If you’re feeling too hot, your baby is probably too. If the house is cool and your baby is dressed lightly and still sweating, talk to his paediatrician.
Does your baby snore and snort while sleeping?
The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends that you always mention your child’s snoring to his doctor, just to be on the safe side. But, if your little one only snores or makes snorting sounds occasionally, it’s probably nothing to worry about, especially if his snores have a steady rhythm.
Many babies snore when they have a stuffy nose while others snore because of allergies. If you are concerned about your little one’s snoring, ask your paediatrician to check for any problems.
