Navigating the world of infant sleep can be daunting for parents. To unravel this mystery, it's essential to understand the sleep cycles that govern your baby's sleep. In this article, we'll dive into the fascinating world of baby sleep and explain why understanding these cycles is important.
As a parent, it's important to note that newborn babies have a different sleep cycle than adults. Unlike adults who go into deep sleep immediately, newborns first enter a period of light sleep before transitioning into a deep sleep. This is why some parents sometimes need to wait 20 minutes before placing their baby fully asleep in the cot.
Understanding your baby's sleep cycle is key to establishing healthy sleep habits and can help your little angel get the rest they need. Additionally, by recognizing the signs of drowsiness early on and knowing when to put your baby down when they are ready, you will have more success getting your baby to settle in the cot and fall asleep faster.
In short, understanding the patterns of infant sleep is essential for any parent looking to establish healthy sleep habits, whether you want to sleep train or not. By recognising your baby's sleep cycles, you can help them get the rest they need, and make sure they're on their way to a lifetime of healthy sleep. So, let's get to it!
Sleep Cycles:
Newborn sleep is characterized by shorter sleep cycles when compared to adults. Typically lasting around 50-60 minutes, these cycles consist of only two stages: REM (rapid eye movement) aka active sleep, and non-REM sleep aka deep or quiet sleep.
It is also worth noting that newborns can be quite noisy during active sleep. Some babies can whimper, move and even cry. Most are still asleep and given space will cycle into another deep sleep cycle.
In infancy, your baby then goes through a maturation of sleep cycles (aka the four-month sleep regression), and although the cycles last roughly the same (around 50-60 minutes) each REM and non-REM cycle further divides into separate stages.
Newborn babies who previously slept well and woke only a few times overnight may now, in infancy, start waking more often because of these light sleep stages, especially after 2/3am when there are no longer deep sleep cycles.
I'm sure you heard it from someone or seen on social media, that baby needs to go into the cot drowsy but awake. This is because when baby is drowsy, they are ready for sleep and will soon drift into a deeper sleep, but they are also awake enough to know they are being lowered into the cot.
This is because drowsy (see chart) is the first stage of sleep, and putting your newborn/infant into the cot drowsy is the key to laying down healthy sleep habits. The chances of your baby doing a longer nap (60+ minutes) are much higher than because they know they are in the same place they fell asleep and can drift back into another sleep cycle when they partially wake after 45-50 minutes.
Tips for Laying Down Healthy Sleep Habits:
Understanding Your Baby's Sleep Cycles.
This is crucial to help you lay down healthy sleep habits from early on. Because infants who don't know how to connect these cycles will wake up more often (between cycles).
If you have a newborn or infant baby and you want to start placing them down drowsy, start by placing them down asleep and work backwards. Focus on the sleep cycle chart and slowly (over a few weeks) start placing your baby down less and less drowsy, until you can put them down awake. This may take time and some nights you will feel like you are going backwards, but keep slowly progressing.
Age-Appropriate Schedule.
Following an age-appropriate will help your baby be rested and ready for sleep. An undertired baby will fight sleep and an overtired baby will have a difficult time relaxing and drifting into sleep.
Sleep Environment.
A good (dark) sleep environment will help your baby drift into sleep faster because it will minimise distractions and help produce melatonin. So, invest in those blackouts!
If your baby is 6 months+ you can work at a faster pace and sleep training may help you get there. Now, before you think "I can't leave my baby to cry alone" I get you and I am here to say, that sleep training is not just CIO and you CAN teach your baby to sleep independently slowly and in a respectful way.
Sleep independence or sleep training is so much more than putting your baby down awake and walking out. The term CIO (cry It Out) seems to be the only association with sleep training and this makes me upset and actually, disappointed. You can teach your baby to sleep independently without much crying while being present to offer support and cuddles.
Yes, gentle methods take time, sometimes 4+ weeks, but I have seen babies go from feeding to sleep to falling asleep independently. So let go of that sleep deprivation badge and join our Angel Mamas!
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