![]() It shows that when young children have an immature hippocampus, it reaches a limit of memories that can be stored without them being forgotten, triggering the need for sleep. When it comes to naps, a new study has tried to shed light on why some four- or five-year-olds love a daily snooze, while some three-years-olds might have stopped entirely. Babies and small children develop at very different rates, so don’t worry if your child is taking a while to wean off a daytime nap “I don’t think one should necessarily worry about some kids needing 10 hours, 11 hours, or maybe even more in the preteens,” says Foster. If your child shows signs of irritability, that’s a sign they may not be getting enough sleep at night.” Don’t be concerned if your child seems to need a lot of sleep. “Exposure to morning light and regular mealtimes are important. He says that attuning to our natural circadian rhythm can dramatically improve sleep. When it comes to how much sleep is needed, parents should focus on the quality of the sleep, not the quantity, and let children follow their own instincts, says Professor Russell Foster, director of the sleep and circadian neuroscience institute at the University of Oxford, in his new book, Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health. But as your child gets older, they need to learn to sleep alone. One of the big requirements for sleep, at any age, is that we feel safe and for a baby, feeling safe involves knowing their parent is close by. “I don’t think we have a clear grasp on what white noise is doing neurologically to a baby, and until we do I don’t think it should be recommended, but if parents choose to use it, then duration and loudness should be limited to reduce impact on infant hearing development.” It’s not a good idea, she warns, to play white noise through your phone and leave it right next to the baby’s cot. “Some argue that it creates a womb-like environment that is calming, others that it damages infant hearing, and a few that it affects the brainstem in a way that causes infants to ‘shut down’ – so a freeze reflex – rather than fall asleep,” says Ball. However, there is still debate around this. If the association is always of a parent having to be there, a child won’t learn to settle on their own.ĭoes playing white noise, via an app or speaker, help? Research has shown it helps babies fall asleep within five minutes, and that they sleep for longer stretches while it’s on. ![]() And at some point you’ll need to make the switch so they’re being put down to sleep while they’re still awake. But whatever the research says, the important thing is to figure out what works for you – and your baby. If you hold the baby for eight minutes after they’ve gone to sleep, and then carefully lay them down in the cot, this should mean they sleep for longer. New research has found that holding and walking with them for five minutes will reduce the child’s heart rate and promote sleep. “It happens over the course of about six months.”įor many parents, getting a crying child to sleep is the hard bit. ![]() “Circadian development is not instantaneous,” says Ball. That’s why it’s important to make sure your baby is exposed to daylight and stimulation during the day, and to ensure they have a dim and quiet environment at night, while moving towards regular bedtimes and wake-up times to regulate their system. This should happen at some point between 2pm and 4pm, but no later.”īabies aren’t born knowing the difference between night and day, so some of the work of parenting a child in the first weeks and months is getting them used to this. Or, if you’re starting to get really run-down, having a replacement nap is usually longer than that: up to 40 minutes. “Power naps are between five and 20 minutes. ![]() However, she stresses, it’s about napping the right way. Napping can be helpful, says Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist and sleep expert whose latest book is Finding Inner Safety: The Key to Healing, Thriving and Overcoming Burnout.
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