Just like adults, babies can wake up at night. However, it is defined as a sleep problem that babies older than 4 months wake up many times during the night and cannot go back to sleep on their own, even though they do not have a need or a problem. 0-4 Years Sleep Counselor Pınar Sibirsky says that faulty sleep associations, excessive tiredness or going to bed late, and lack of sleep routines are the three main reasons why babies have sleep problems.
DO NOT MAKE IT FROM KNOWN MISTAKES!
Sibirsky explains these reasons as follows: “If you are putting your baby to sleep by sucking-shaking-squirming, that is, with support in some way, your baby associates rocking with sleep, that is, he needs rocking to sleep. Therefore, every time he wakes up at night, he still wants to rock in order to continue sleeping. The same is true for babies who sleep by sucking, cuddling, or even snuggling in their crib.
Thoughts such as “the more tired he gets, the better he sleeps” or “the later he goes to bed, the later he gets up” unfortunately work the other way around when it comes to babies’ sleep. The baby’s body, which stays awake for longer hours than it can bear, releases stress hormones. With the effect of this hormone, the baby both falls asleep very difficult and wakes up very often during the night. A sleep routine is also necessary. Taking babies out of a vigorous activity and putting them to bed right away makes it harder for them to fall asleep. In order for them to fall asleep more easily, it is necessary to prepare them for sleep by doing certain relaxing activities before both day and night sleep.
IF YOUR BABY LEARNS TO SLEEP WITHOUT SUPPORT, IT WILL SLEEP BETTER AT NIGHTS
So how can we solve these problems? What can we do to make our baby sleep better at night? First of all, he states that it is necessary to teach the baby to fall asleep on his own without support, that is, like us adults. In this way, even if your baby wakes up at night, he can go back to sleep on his own.
IDEAL SLEEP TIME FOR BABIES
Drawing attention to the importance of putting the baby to bed at the right time for an uninterrupted and quality sleep, Sibirsky reminds that it would be appropriate for babies and toddlers aged 0-4 to wake up around 07.00-08.00 in the morning and go to sleep at around 19.00-20.00 in the evening.
Emphasizing that the baby’s routines during the day and before sleep help him prepare himself for sleep, Sibirsky underlines that relaxing the baby by applying routines appropriate for his age before each sleep will facilitate the transition to sleep. Sibirsky said, “Turning on music before going to sleep, looking out the window to wish good sleep to the animals and the sun/moon outside, closing the curtain, reading a book and a light dance before going to bed can be a good routine for pre-sleep.” He says it’s important to sleep.