Sleep mode of a child at different ages | La Roche Posay

How long does a child need to sleep to be healthy?

Collectively, scientists came to the conclusion that an adult needs to sleep at least 8 hours a day.

This conclusion follows from the very nature of sleep. Remember the structure of sleep: we go through five sleep cycles of about 100 minutes each. Multiplying 100 minutes by 5 and dividing by 60 gives you approximately 8 hours.

The duration of sleep depends on the age of the person. The younger we are, the more sleep we need. WHO (World Health Organization) and sleep scientists recommend following the following recommendations (see table) and unanimously believe that sleep is vital and should not be neglected. Especially the mode of sleep and wakefulness of the child is important for babies.

Let’s dwell on this in more detail.

What should be the sleep pattern of a child up to a year old so that he grows up healthy, smart and happy?

In the first months of life, 20 hours of sleep for a child is the norm. It is not necessary to disturb the child’s sleep schedule: we should not influence the baby’s rest, as this can harm the health of the child, especially at this tender age. The cycles and phases of sleep in babies change from month to month, according to how their brain grows and develops.

Scientists believe that sleep in the first weeks after birth is especially important and is a continuation of the behavior of the child in the embryonic state. Therefore, the baby knows for himself when it is time for him to eat and sleep. In the first 2-3 months of his life, if the baby is not bothered by anything, a long rest for him is the norm. Knowing this, parents can begin to form the correct daily routine for their baby from the age of 4 months.

If we recall the data from the table above, it becomes clear that the sleep of an infant and the sleep pattern of a child up to the first year of life differ significantly from each other. What are the differences in sleep by months of a child up to a year of life?

Sleep from 1 to 3 months of life

This period of life is distinguished by a high duration of sleep: from 16 to 19 hours a day. During this period of time, sleep (rest) is just beginning to form, the newborn often wakes up for feeding. This time is very important for the baby, parents need to learn to notice the signs of disturbed sleep, make sure that the baby does not remain active for too long and at the same time try not to wake up before the allotted time. From the 7th week of life, we can let our baby fall asleep on his own.

3 to 6 months of life

At this stage, the number of night feedings usually decreases. At the age of 6 months, the child may completely refuse to feed at night. The baby forms a day and rest regimen: sleep hours are reduced: daytime sleep up to 3-5 hours, nighttime sleep up to 10-11 hours. It is time for the formation of bedtime rituals: quiet games, bathing, fairy tales and mother’s lullabies.

6 to 9 months of life

At the age of 8 months, the baby continues to form consciousness, separation from close relatives, most of all with his mother, begins to upset him. Games (hide-and-seek, peek-a-boo) will help prevent fear for the baby, and you can also place the place of the child’s games next to the parents: let the mother always be in sight. The child is actively developing physically. It is necessary to load the baby with active actions, but not give reasons for stress.

9 to 12 months of life

At this stage, the baby begins to follow the sequence of actions. A little more and the baby will learn to walk, now all his strength goes to the development of this skill, there is a need for sound sleep and recuperation. During this period, the first related problem arises: sleep disturbance. It is necessary to continue the formation of sleep rituals, reduce distractions that can excite the baby even more.

What are the bedtime rituals for your baby?

• we ventilate the rooms where the baby sleeps before going to bed;

• remove all toys;

• take a bath;

• be sure to visit the toilet;

• turn off the world;

• do not forget about hugs and kisses;

• let’s sing a lullaby.

As a child grows older, the sleep schedule of the child changes even more: the number of hours of sleep is reduced, including the number of hours of sleep at night. All kids are different, but still it is necessary to keep daytime sleep as long as possible, at least before school.

Parents often turn to pediatricians and neurologists with the question: what to do if the schedule of sleep and wakefulness of a child under one year old cannot be built? Sleep disorders are called: children’s behavioral insomnia, which significantly contributes to the deterioration of the quality of life of parents.

Causes of insomnia

Children’s behavioral insomnia is the result of misassociations associated with going to bed or misidentification of sleep conditions. We are talking about the right habits to fall asleep in certain conditions (for example, one in a crib) and violation of sleep patterns. For example, when a child does not agree with the place or time for sleeping, and then a lot of unreasonable pretexts begin: “I’m scared alone”, “I want to drink”, “I want to go to the toilet”.

Despite the dissatisfaction of the parents and even punishment, the child moves into bed with them every night. This form of childhood insomnia is interesting in that it does not actually cause direct harm to the child if he is able to get the normative amount of sleep during the day. But parents here suffer to a greater extent – the mothers of such children often have depressive disorders, and family relationships also suffer.

Other forms of insomnia are adaptive insomnia (a reaction to a stressful situation), psychophysiological insomnia (occurs in anxious, emotional, responsible children before an important event for them), insomnia in violation of sleep hygiene (more often occurs in adolescents who lead an evening or night life, spend too much time in bed during the day and go to bed at different times each time).

Often doctors meet with insomnia of a secondary nature, they are directly related to any health problems. For example, atopic dermatitis, which is accompanied by severe itching. And the smaller the child, the more difficult it is for us to suspect that something is bothering the child.

Itching is a kind of equivalent of pain, the child becomes irritable, whiny, it is difficult for him to fall asleep, itching forces the baby to wake up. And we, adults, often do not always pay attention to these manifestations of the disease or underestimate their significance in violating the correct regimen in a child. But statistically, nine out of ten patients with atopic dermatitis have problems sleeping. They are very common, but few people talk about them.

How to help a child with sleep disorders?

At this stage, the number of night feedings usually decreases. At the age of 6 months, the child may completely refuse to feed at night. The baby forms a day and rest regimen: sleep hours are reduced: daytime sleep up to 3-5 hours, nighttime sleep up to 10-11 hours. It is time for the formation of bedtime rituals: quiet games, bathing, fairy tales and mother’s lullabies.

It is necessary to follow the recommendations, the so-called rules of sleep hygiene:

• the time of going to bed and waking up during the week at the same time, regardless of holidays and weekends;

• limiting any activity in bed other than sleep (reading, watching movies, eating): this can disrupt the association between bed and sleep;

• it is necessary to maintain comfortable conditions in the children’s room / place of sleep: minimum level of illumination, noise / “white noise”, moderate air temperature, comfortable mattress, pillow, clothes for sleeping;

• the process of falling asleep should consist of consecutive, daily repeating activities: evening dress, lullaby, reading at night;

• it is necessary to avoid activities that can lead to arousal (watching TV, video games, socializing with peers, physical activity) before bedtime. You need to remove video games, TV, phone, computer from the child’s room;

• if the child is still sleeping during the day, it is necessary to limit the time of daytime sleep in the afternoon;

• diet should be observed: the baby should not go to bed overeaten or hungry;

• it is necessary to ensure a sufficient level of physical activity during the day;

• with the onset of the morning, it is necessary to provide sufficient lighting for the child’s room;

• it is necessary to avoid the use of caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate) in the afternoon;

• it is advisable to keep a diary of night and daytime sleep: an assessment of daytime activity allows you to identify problems that prevent you from establishing the correct regimen and achieving healthy sleep.

When we talk about insomnia of a secondary nature, using the example of atopic dermatitis, it is necessary to take into account the recommendations of a pediatrician, an allergist-immunologist, a dermatologist:

• individual plan for identifying triggers of atopic dermatitis;

• selection of therapy for disease control;

• a plan of action in which the child will scratch the skin less: for bathing and moisturizing the skin of a child prone to atopy, it is recommended to use special products, for example, the La Roche-Posay brand (gamma Lipikar ).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that sleep is an obligatory part of our daily rhythm, without which our body cannot exist. The formation of the correct sleep regimen is in our power. The nervous system of a child is very plastic, it adapts to the conditions that we impose on it.

Therefore, even if the baby has sleep problems, you need to be patient and methodically follow the recommendations for the formation of proper sleep hygiene, sleep-related habits, a sufficient level of physical activity during wakefulness, a favorable home atmosphere, and, of course, be attentive to the manifestations diseases that the child often cannot tell us about.

When parents allow their child to sleep fully, they care not only about restoring his energy, but also about full development and health.

Knowing what the baby’s sleep should be like for months, it will be much easier to do this. Lack of sleep in a baby is a big problem that needs to be addressed immediately. We need to remember that it is easier to prevent sleep disturbance than to look for a way out of the current situation later.

The author of the article is Tarasova Olga Vladimirovna

Lipikar — Lipikar