While your baby had adopted a good sleep rhythm, now for a few days or even a few weeks, he has been waking up again several times a night? He’s probably having sleep regression. Signs, causes, solutions…Answers and advice from Dr Catherine Salinier, ambulatory pediatrician.
Frequent nocturnal awakenings, complicated naps, difficulty falling asleep, crying at bedtime… So many characteristic signs of a sleep regression. If this term is not scientific, it nevertheless designates a very frequent phenomenon that upsets young parents. How to explain this change when the bedtime ritual has remained the same? How long does sleep regression last in newborns? How to help baby to redo his nights? The guide, with advice from pediatrician Catherine Salinier.
What is sleep regression?
Sleep regression refers to a sudden deterioration in sleep in a baby who had been sleeping perfectly until now. These regression phases generally occur when the baby is going through major stages of his psychomotor development. As destabilizing as they are, sleep regression phases are normal.
Why does baby wake up while sleeping?
Most of the time, sleep regression is linked to the acquisition of psychomotor skill : back-to-belly and belly-to-back rollovers, sitting position, four legs, standing position, walking…. “Each psychomotor development is accompanied by a psychic but also physical upheaval.“, indicates the pediatrician. These acquisition phases mobilize babies considerably, which can delay their falling asleep and alter the quality of sleep. The first colds, a move, the first separations, a new mode of care, the birth of a little brother or a little sister… Any change in the baby’s daily life causing him to lose his bearings can be responsible for sleep regressions.
“Each psychomotor development is accompanied by a psychic but also physical upheaval”.
At what age does sleep regression occur in babies?
There are typical ages at which the baby is likely to go through sleep regression.
- At 4 months, the baby wakes up to the outside world, he becomes aware of the elements around him, which can cause sleeping troubles.
- Around 8-9 months, the baby is going through separation anxiety. He may refuse to fall asleep alone, cry in bed.
- Around 10-12 months, the first steps represent a real revolution in the psyche of a baby. Standing up and walking is a real victory for human beings. While he was low to the ground and seeing everything horizontally, he suddenly perceives everything vertically. He walks, he becomes independent, he bumps, he falls and can grab whatever he wants.
- At 18 months, the baby may be going through a second major separation anxiety. This results in the irrepressible need for the presence of one of the two parents to fall asleep.
- At 2 years oldlanguage acquisition may be responsible for sleep disorders.
- At 3 years old, entering kindergarten represents a huge upheaval in the life of a child who can, again, be subject to sleep disorders.
Sleep regression is mainly manifested by difficulty falling asleep, crying at bedtime, frequent nocturnal awakenings and shorter naps for no apparent reason.
How long does a sleep regression last?
The duration of a sleep regression is random. It lasts on average fifteen days but can settle over time.
It all depends on the age of the baby. “If he is less than 6 months old, leaving him to cry in bed is out of the question. You have to go see him, cuddle him, rock him, reassure him, then put him back in his bed. In other words, accompany him as best as possible without giving him a bottle or playing with him in the middle of the night. Beyond 6 months, the child must understand that it is night and that everyone is asleep, which imposes a little more firmness without letting him cry for a long time. We explain things to him calmly, he will understand little by little “, advises our interlocutor. At the same time, it is essential to maintaining nap and bedtime rituals established since birth so that the baby is not disturbed.
Thanks to Dr Catherine Salinier, ambulatory pediatrician, head of the “Child psychiatry” and “Adolescent” groups of the AFPA, expert of the Mpedia parenting site