Features of the daytime and nighttime sleep patterns of children from birth to one year

With the arrival of a newborn in the family, parents face many additional worries and responsibilities. This applies not only to the love and care that others give to the baby. An important task is to provide the most comfortable conditions for normal growth and full development. One of them is the baby’s sleep pattern. It is designed to streamline the lives of all family members and prepare the child in advance for attending kindergarten, and later – school. When dealing with this issue, you should be patient, because during the first year of life the ratio of periods of rest and wakefulness changes.

Why rest is so important

Children are very active, therefore, when they are awake, they become very tired, literally falling off their feet. To restore strength and energy, you need good rest. During sleep, the following processes occur in the body:

1. Tissue, organs and energy are restored. When a child is tired, he has trouble controlling his body and falls, hitting objects.
2. The release of growth hormone, the development of the muscular and skeletal system, organs, and so on are observed. If a baby spends little time sleeping, he begins to lag behind in development, and there is a deviation from the generally accepted norms of weight and height.
3. There is an active formation of immune cells that are necessary to fight diseases.
4. A process associated with the development and growth of the brain takes place, new neural connections are formed. During sleep, the child's brain works intensively: it analyzes the information received during the day, remembers it, looks for relationships between events, and consolidates new skills.
5. Restoration of the nervous system. Children who rest according to the norms have an excellent mood and a cheerful disposition.

Based on the results of a scientific study related to sleep in infants, when there is a lack of rest, the baby’s behavior becomes worse, aggression, tearfulness, and impulsiveness occur. Sometimes what happens is caused by hyperactivity syndrome. We are talking about attention deficit when the child is not able to focus his attention on anything.

Scientists have proven that if babies under one year of age sleep much less than they should according to the norms, behavioral disorders are observed in them even in adulthood.

Therefore, it is necessary to create for the baby the entire set of conditions for quality sleep that meets the established monthly standards. Adequate rest is an excellent prevention of problems in the behavior and development of the toddler.

The benefits of following routines in childhood

If for adults sleep is the key to health and normal functioning, then for children it is also a guarantee of correct and harmonious development.
Doctors explain the importance of rest for infants for the following reasons. Brain development. Connections between the hemispheres are established, and a network of neurons is formed.

Concentration of memory and attention. Normal rest helps facilitate the process of digesting information that the baby receives in large quantities.

It is important to know! Regulation of functions. During sleep, the hormone melatonin is produced, which is involved in the normalization of the gastrointestinal tract, endocrine and other systems, and the functioning of brain cells.

Recovery processes. The baby’s body can replenish the energy and strength expended during the day only during the night’s rest.

Reducing stress. Getting to know the world around you, gaining new experiences, and increased physical activity often leads to nervous overexcitation. Timely and adequate sleep allows the body to regulate the activity of the central nervous system.

Strengthening the immune system. Normal rest increases the defenses of a small organism, helping it fight viruses and infections.

Sleep standards for infants

Moms and dads record breaks between meals for their baby, from one month of age to one year, this also applies to such indicators as food volumes, weight gain, and height. Parents compare these data with the standard, without even remembering the norm of sleep.

In vain. Rest plays an important role in a baby's growth and development, as does nutrition.

The norm of rest for children under one year old is averaged, because all babies are individual. In the first days of life, some infants can remain asleep for up to 15 hours per day, while others can sleep for up to 22 hours. This is fine.

The following article provides general recommendations regarding the daily routine of infants. If a baby, 1-3 weeks after birth, remains asleep for more than 20 hours, and the family is worried about this and advises the parents to wake up the baby, there is no need to listen to them.

The child's body knows how much time the baby needs to rest. Mom and dad can only try to establish a daily routine.

Initially, the newborn does not rest, adhering to the day-night regime, because he has not yet had time to get used to the daily routine of his parents. It has yet to be worked out.

For ease of perception, information regarding rest for infants is presented as a table of sleep for a child up to one year old.

The table shows the daily routine of a newborn by month in general terms. Relatives should not worry if the toddler’s time for rest and wakefulness goes beyond the average. The main features of a proper routine are considered to be the child’s good behavior, excellent appetite and excellent mood.

Is a regime necessary?

Dr. Komarovsky states that a child's basic needs are a sense of security, regular feeding and rest. He doesn't advocate strict routines, but says routines make life easier for parents and allow them to find time for their own interests.

The baby has no physiological need for a regimen if the norms of wakefulness and feeding frequency are observed. But with its help, it’s easier for mom to streamline her actions.

The drawn up schedule allows you to allocate time for the necessary activities:

• walks in the open air;
• communication with the child;
• Cooking;
• educational games;
• bathing;
• dream;
• meal.

Doctors are constantly arguing whether a feeding schedule is necessary or whether it is better to give the baby food on demand. While the baby is exclusively breastfed, the second option is acceptable, but then it is important to follow the regime. Otherwise, the digestive system is overloaded, metabolism deteriorates, and the risk of allergies and diathesis increases.

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By adhering to the routine, it is easy to keep up with everything, provide the child with comfort, harmonious development and at the same time accustom him to the regime by which he will live while attending kindergarten.

Sleep patterns as you get older

Let's look at how a baby's sleep progresses by month.

1. During the first month of life, the little one sleeps almost all day. He rests up to 22 hours a day. The stress suffered during childbirth and the new environment require adaptation from the baby. He manages to do this best in his sleep. Periods of wakefulness at this age are very short, about 40 minutes.
2. In the second month of life, a baby may no longer sleep for an entire hour, sometimes even 1.5 hours. He spends a total of 15 to 18 hours sleeping. At this stage of their development, babies experience something like a kind of “crisis”, manifested by difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakenings for no reason. This should not be a cause for concern for parents. What is happening to the child is normal. During daylight hours, the baby wakes up about five times every 40-120 minutes. In the dark, the baby can rest continuously, without waking up, for 5 hours.
3. Babies in the third month of life tend to sleep less during daylight hours. Daytime rest now takes approximately 5.5 hours, and nighttime – about 11. During light hours, sleep lasts from 40 minutes to 120 minutes. At this age, it is time for parents to accustom the baby to the fact that in the evening he should fall asleep from 19.00 to 22.00, while observing the appearance of the first signs of fatigue in the baby. As soon as they are noticed, immediately put the baby in the crib.
4. In the fourth month of life, the body begins to produce melatonin (sleep hormone), which contributes to the normal development of the baby. Since this hormone is better produced in the dark, care must be taken to ensure that the baby’s night’s sleep is as sound and quality as possible, and lasts at least 11 hours (in total). He only breaks to feed once during the night.
5. In five-month-old babies, there is a reduction in the total daily sleep time to 14-17 hours. During daylight hours, the baby sleeps three times for 2 hours. A night's rest takes him about 12 hours. During this period of the baby’s life, parents should start adjusting the daily schedule taking into account the characteristics of his behavior.
6. Six-month-old babies sleep no more than 3-4 hours in the daytime, and about 12 in the dark. Periods of continuous wakefulness in babies of this age already reach 2-2.5 hours. During the day, babies are put to rest twice for 1.5 hours.
7. In the seventh month, children establish a stable two-hour daytime rest, while the nighttime rest takes from 10 to 12 hours. The duration of the waking phase reaches 3 hours.
8. An eight-month-old baby is in a state of sleep during the day for a total of about 15 hours, of which 3 hours are allocated to two hour and a half day rest. Waking periods now last up to 3.5 hours. The child spends this time cheerfully and is active. During the night he may no longer wake up.
9. In the ninth to tenth month of life, babies sleep 14-15 hours a day. Children refuse evening sleep, as it leads to a deterioration in the baby’s mood and harms night’s rest. The baby is already able to fall asleep on his own, even when he wakes up at night. Parents clearly notice the presence of individual characteristics of their child’s sleep patterns.
10. A special feature of children aged eleven to twelve months is their ability to adapt to an individual schedule. Mom and dad can already try to accustom the baby to evenly distributed daytime sleep.

Thanks to this measure, night sleep becomes stronger. One-year-old babies get used to one day's rest. In total, they sleep about 12-14 hours during the day. The intervals of continuous wakefulness are now 6 hours.

Rules for establishing a regime

When drawing up a schedule, you should take into account the individual characteristics of the baby. Dr. Komarovsky advises to first observe and find out his preferences. Some children have an active temperament, which means they get tired more often, others are calm and spend less energy. For them, daytime sleep time can be slightly reduced.

Based on the baby’s behavior, you need to choose the optimal hour for feeding, walking, playing, sleeping, and bathing.

It's difficult to adjust to the schedule at first. In infants, body functions are not sufficiently formed. They do not always want to fall asleep at night, confusing the time for wakefulness and sleep. The parents' task is to help the child readjust. To do this, you need to lay it down and pick it up at the same time. After 2-3 weeks, the baby will get used to it and will easily fall asleep and wake up at the set hour.

If the newborn sucks only at the breast, the breaks between feedings should be no more than 2 hours. The artificial mixture takes longer to break down in the stomach. To avoid indigestion, you need to pause for 3-4 hours . These nuances must be taken into account when creating a regimen.

How to determine the desire to sleep

In some cases, a tired baby falls asleep on his own, without requiring rocking or increased attention from mom and dad. However, most children do not know how to do this. They don't even realize they are tired.

Therefore, parents should be observant and learn to notice signs of fatigue in their child:

1. The baby may yawn and rub its eyes.
2. Behave apathetically, turn away, have no interest in games.
3. The child behaves capriciously, nervously, and cries for no reason.
4. The baby looks excited and is acting too active.

Having noticed the presence of the above signs in the behavior of the baby, parents urgently need to put the child to bed. Otherwise, he faces nervous overexcitation, which will negatively affect the quality of his night's rest.

It is important to ensure that the little one does not go to bed too late at night, as many adults do. An hour of sleep before midnight is equivalent to two hours after.

Table with height and weight standards for children under one year old

Using a centile table, you can track the approximate norms of a child’s monthly weight gain, and how the baby’s body length should increase. Height and weight standards for children are given in terms of minimum/maximum values, so they can be used as a guide.

Symptoms of lack of sleep

Children under one year of age and older need proper rest. It happens that a child can sleep an hour less than the established norm. However, if this does not negatively affect his well-being and behavior during the day, then parents have no reason to worry in such a situation.

There are times when a baby sleeps for the amount of time allotted to him according to norms, and still experiences a lack of sleep.

This is manifested by the following symptoms:

1. Restless behavior during periods of wakefulness. At the same time, the infant is restless, capricious, and not interested in games and other activities. You can calm the baby by cradling him in his mother’s arms.
2. Great fatigue in the evening, accompanied by crying and screaming. It is caused by insufficient daytime sleep. In this case, putting the baby into bed is a real test for parents. To avoid this, adults should accustom the baby to a constant routine, monitor signs of fatigue, set aside evening time for quiet games, and introduce a bedtime ritual.
3. Waking up before midnight, several hours after the baby was put to bed. This happens due to lack of daytime sleep.
4. Decreased appetite and non-compliance with weight standards.
5. Hyperfatigue syndrome, manifested by poor sleep, screaming, tears, restless behavior in the crib, when the baby tosses and turns for a long time.

Many factors lead to this behavior in children, including health problems. The above symptoms are caused not only by lack of sleep, but also by colic or teething that torments the baby, or other more serious diseases. In this case, a consultation with a pediatrician is necessary.

Possible disorders

If the newborn has health problems, disturbances may also occur. Such disorders are divided into two types: primary and secondary.

Among the former are nightmares and fears, enuresis, obstructive apnea syndrome and others. They can be determined during a polysomnographic study.

Primary disturbances in night sleep in a newborn may manifest themselves as a result of insufficient maturity of the central nervous system or heredity. Medical practice shows that as one grows older, such disorders disappear.

Babies under one year of age are most often characterized by secondary disorders. When conducting a polysomnographic examination, deviations in body functions are not noted. The main disorders are difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakenings at night.

Achieving a good sleep routine

You need to start instilling the skills of proper proper sleep as early as possible. Naturally, the results will not be noticeable immediately, but the efforts of adults will pay off over time - the duration of rest for a baby up to a year will be within the normal range.

Home measures to help improve sleep patterns in newborns include the following:

1. Parents monitoring for signs of child fatigue. Attentive mothers are able to quickly identify symptoms of drowsiness: the baby rubs its eyes, tugs at its earlobes, and is capricious for no reason.
2. Teaching your baby the ability to distinguish between day and night. From about two weeks, you can begin to develop a routine for your little one: to do this, turn on electrical appliances during the day, open windows, and in the dark, on the contrary, dim the lights.
3. Encouraging your baby when he falls asleep on his own. Parents are sure that their children need motion sickness. However, a sleepy child can fall asleep without this. You just need to give the baby the opportunity to develop such a useful habit.
4. Creating comfortable conditions. During the dark period, silence is maintained in the nursery, the temperature is 19-22 degrees Celsius. Ventilation of the nursery on the eve of a night's rest is recommended by the famous children's doctor, Dr. Komarovsky, to humidify the air in the room and improve the quality of sleep.
5. Introducing the ritual of falling asleep. You can discipline your child if you strictly follow the established sequence of actions and repeat them in a certain order every evening.

It is also important that he likes the environment in the room where the baby sleeps. It is better to furnish the rooms with beautiful and comfortable interior items.

Parents must show maximum calm and restraint, love and care for their own child. The baby will feel that he is needed by loved ones, which means he is guaranteed a healthy, full sleep.

Recommendations for parents

In order to make the child's sleep complete and prevent the development of various disorders, parents should follow some recommendations.

It is imperative to adhere to a constant, stable sleep-wake schedule for the newborn. With a sliding schedule, there is a high probability that the baby will have problems falling asleep and will wake up quite often at night.

In addition, you should follow a routine, give the child the opportunity to fall asleep on his own and, if necessary, wake him up in the morning.

It is important to create such conditions so that, when the newborn wakes up in the middle of the night, he does not worry or cry, but feels safe.