Do you hold your breath every time you have to transfer your sleeping baby to her cot? Help her stay asleep for longer with these top tips.
The natural sleep cycle
Most babies sleep lightly for the first 45 minutes of a nap or at night. This is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. “In this light sleep state, your baby might jerk or twitch and can be easily woken by sounds and other sensory input in the environment,” explains Meg Faure, occupational therapist, speaker, and author of Sleep Sense. Your baby then transitions into non-REM sleep where she won’t move much and will be hard to wake.
However, after 30 to 45 minutes (or around 60 minutes for toddlers), your baby will begin to move back into a lighter sleep again where he’s likely to wake, explains Meg. The process of becoming drowsy and falling asleep again into a light and then deep sleep is known as one sleep cycle. Your little one will go through many sleep cycles during the night, as well as during a nap.
Day napping
It’s important to keep these sleep cycles in mind when your baby naps during the day. If you need to transition her to her cot, it might help to let her fall into a deeper sleep before attempting to move her. If she wakes fully after a sleep cycle, she might appear to be awake and refreshed, but as Faure explains, babies need to move into a deeper sleep at least once a day. So if you know your little one needs more sleep, try to re-settle her by patting her on the back or resting your hand on her so that she feels secure.
Overtired
An overtired baby will have more trouble settling down, going to sleep, and staying asleep, explains mom, sleep consultant, and founder of the Baby Sleep Site, Nicole Johnson. “My boys always fell asleep easiest when I caught them before they started to fuss and cry. Some babies are much more sensitive to being overtired than others, so it’s important to watch their wake time,” she says. Wake time is the duration of wakefulness between sleep times, counting the time it takes to soothe your baby to sleep, explains Nicole. These zones vary greatly depending on your baby’s age and temperament, but knowing the best wake time for your child will help you avoid your little one becoming overtired and missing the optimum sleep window where she’s likely to stay asleep for longer. For example, a newborn will generally only be able to stay happily awake for around 40 minutes, a six-month-old around 90 minutes, and a toddler, from 12 months onwards, can stay awake for anything between three and six hours between naps. (The duration will increase as the child gets older.)
Sleep habits
If you’re out and about with your baby, but still want her to have a decent nap, or you need to transfer her to a bed or camp cot at a friend’s place, it will help to mimic the calm sleep space you have at home.
4 Sleep tips to keep in mind:
- Keep the light out: Whether she’s sleeping in the pram or in a room, use darker curtains or a breathable blanket over the pram to block out the light.
- Ensure the temperature is right: Your baby will sleep best in a room or space that’s between 16 and 20°C. Use blankets or a sleeping bag to cover her in winter and a fan and/or lighter cotton clothes in summer.
- Use white noise: Studies have shown that a constant sound such as a fan or sound of the ocean or water (from a CD or iPad) helps babies to sleep deeper for longer. You can also use this noise to re-settle her if she wakes up during a transition.
- Avoid talking or eye contact: If your child happens to wake up while you’re moving her, simply pat and shush her back to sleep without talking or looking at her.
