Sleep Schedules

The Babble Staff

Conventional wisdom on sleep-schedules is not what it used to be. Even Dr. Ferber, icon of rigidity on this matter has revised his previous approach and acknowledges that a certain amount of flexibility is in place when it comes to teaching infants when to sleep. Still, few pediatricians recommend completely doing away with a schedule for sleeping (unless you want to end up with a cranky baby, or don't care much for regular sleep yourself). A combination of routine and sensitivity to your baby's signals is more or less the consensus, though some lean more toward sensitivity and improvisation than others. Dr. Spock advocates playing with your baby during the day and teaching him that nighttime is "low-key and boring." Though your baby is likely to learn later in life that this isn't entirely true, that white lie might facilitate a peaceful household during early childhood. Even the usually easy-going Dr. Cohen advocates a baby-led schedule during the first month or so, but will tell you that, after the first four months, if a baby isn't sleeping through the night, she won't start doing it unless you teach her to.

When do people make the transition from being soothed to sleep to being able to soothe themselves? That's the ten-thousand dollar question. But when it does happen, that's when Lucy will "sleep through the night." [...] For the first few days after birth, don't even think about sleeping through the night. [...] Predictable sleep-patterns really aren't a priority at this point. [...] Until she gets a few weeks older there is little you can do to keep her up during the day so that she'll sleep more at night. Any attempts to keep her awake will only agitate her. In the mean time, try to sleep when Lucy sleeps. [...] As a rule, never wake her up to feed at night if she's sleeping peacefully.

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In the first couple of months, I suggest that you not jump up at her slightest peep and that you ignore minor whining so that she can soothe herself back to sleep. That means letting her wiggle, fuss, or suck on her fist for a while. If she manages to fall back to sleep without your help even once, she's learned the basis of self-soothing, and it will happen more naturally the second time. Of course, if her requests become more persistent, you'll have to feed her. [ With this laissez-faire method you will] never have to resort to the ugly "let the baby cry it out."

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By [four months] if Lucy isn't sleeping through the night, I am sorry to report that she's very unlikely to do so on her own.

Sticking to a schedule is important; being a slave to it every day of the year is neither practical nor necessary. Babies do best with schedules and routines, and they love them.

Because of our internal clocks we all, young and old alike, sleep best if we go to bed at the same time every day (whether at night or during the day for naps) and wake up at the same time every morning. But you don't have to be absolutely inflexible.

If your child keeps to a regular schedule on most days, going off it for a special occasion is fine. It also depends on your child. Some babies need to have their sleep and meals at exactly the same time every day. Other babies have more leeway. But even if your child seems able to handle changes in his schedule, it's worth trying to maintain a regular schedule for a few weeks. This way you can truly evaluate what works best for your family.

Circadian rhythms, or the sleep-wake cycle, are regulated by light and dark and these rhythms take time to develop, resulting in the irregular sleep schedules of newborns. The rhythms begin to develop at about six weeks, and by three to six months most infants have a regular sleep-wake cycle.

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For newborns, sleep during the early months occurs around the clock and the sleep-wake cycle interacts with the need to be fed, changed and nurtured. Newborns sleep a total of 10.5 to 18 hours a day on an irregular schedule with periods of one to three hours spent awake. The sleep period may last a few minutes to several hours. During sleep, they are often active, twitching their arms and legs, smiling, sucking and generally appearing restless.

Newborns express their need to sleep in different ways. Some fuss, cry, rub their eyes or indicate this need with individual gestures. It is best to put babies to bed when they are sleepy, but not asleep. They are more likely to fall asleep quickly and eventually learn how to get themselves to sleep. Newborns can be encouraged to sleep less during the day by exposing them to light and noise, and by playing more with them in the daytime. As evening approaches, the environment can be quieter and dimmer with less activity.

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When infants are put to bed drowsy but not asleep, they are more likely to become "self- soothers" which enables them to fall asleep independently at bedtime and put themselves back to sleep during the night. Those who have become accustomed to parental assistance at bedtime often become "signalers" and cry for their parents to help them return to sleep during the night.

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Toddlers need about 12-14 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. When they reach about 18 months of age their naptimes will decrease to once a day lasting about one to three hours. Naps should not occur too close to bedtime as they may delay sleep at night.

Many toddlers experience sleep problems including resisting going to bed and nighttime awakenings. Nighttime fears and nightmares are also common.

The first problem many new parents face is a baby who has mixed up day and night. He seems to like to sleep more during the day; his wakeful hours tend to be at night. This shouldn't be surprising. After all, he couldn't care less whether it's night or day, so long as he's fed, cuddled, and kept warm and dry. In the womb, it was pretty dark anyway, and he never had the chance to accommodate to the day-night cycle.

For this reason, I give all parents the same advice. Play with your baby a lot during the day time. Wake him up to feed him if the usual amount of time has elapsed since the last feeding. If you're going to play with him, do it when it's light outside. Nighttime is a different story. When you feed him after dark, do it efficiently and with less fanfare. Don't wake him to feed him when it's dark out unless there is a medical reason to do so. Let him learn very early on that daytime is fun time and nighttime is kind of low-key and boring. By two to four months, most babies have learned to be more awake during the day and to sleep for longer periods at night.

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Many babies easily get used to the idea that they always go to sleep right after a meal. Many other babies are very sociable after meals. You can choose which routine fits best with the schedule of the whole family.

Newborns sleep wherever they are. By about three or four months, it's a good idea for babies to get used to falling asleep in their own beds, without company (unless you plan to have your baby sleep with you for a long time). This is one way to prevent later sleep problems. A baby who expects to be held and rocked before she goes to sleep may want such comfort for months, even years. Then when she awakens in the night she may want these pleasures again.

We've learned a great deal about sleep schedules — how they impact the child's sleep and how they can be a problem. We have a better understanding of partial arousals, including night terrors, sleep walking and related sleep disturbances, why they happen and how to deal with them. We improved guidelines for sleep requirements at different ages, which can help avoid certain common problems, such as parents trying for more sleep than possible.

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In getting a child to sleep well at night, the first thing is to understand the nature of sleep, the development of sleep in children and what should normally happen at each age. If a child is having sleep problems, try to understand all the reasons why. Once the reasons are identified, you can design a solution. If it's simply an issue of an improper schedule, then adjusting the schedule should be all that's necessary.

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Schedules can go wrong at all ages, in all kinds of ways. One common problem in babies is getting too much sleep during the day in the form of long naps to be able to sleep well at night. Another is going to bed so early in the evening that the baby wakes up earlier in the morning than parents like. Shortening naps or putting the child to bed later are quick solutions.

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A child who basically sleeps fine, but has normal wakings that require the parent to repeatedly do something — go to his room to rub his back, pick him up or rock him — to help him go back to sleep can be a problem, especially after the first three to four months. Such habits can be eased away from while teaching a new one that the parents choose based on what circumstances they want their child sleeping under. In just a couple of days, they can teach their child a more independent habit for going back to sleep. click to close

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