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What you need to know and how you can help your baby sleep

Human sleep consists of alternating phases of non-deep and deep sleep (n-REM and REM). REM is characterized by rapid eye movement and the production of dreams.

Infant sleep is characterized by successive cycles. Each cycle consists of phases where REM sleep is followed by deeper sleep and then again by REM sleep. The dotted line depicts the stages of sleep in newborns and the continuous line in older babies.

The stages of baby sleep

In newborns, the phases of sleep – wakefulness – intermediate state have a maximum duration of 60′ – 90′. They are interrupted or not depending on the state of hunger. Thus, sleep cycles are 2-3 hours long or even shorter in breastfed infants.

As the baby grows, the sleep cycles during the night become longer, which leads to an increase in the duration of nighttime sleep with age.

There is also a decrease in the duration of daytime sleep (18 months – 5 years).

Sleep maturation during the first year is characterized by stabilization and regulation.

Stabilization means an increase in the duration of continuous nighttime sleep, which is achieved between 6 weeks and three months. By 7 – 9 months, the intervals of continuous nighttime sleep increase and the intervals of morning sleep decrease.

Sleep regulation refers to the regulation of the state of wakefulness and the ability of the infant to return to a state of quiet sleep without waking up. Self-regulation is achieved around 12 months and is greatly influenced by family habits, the child’s neurodevelopmental maturity and the influence of the environment.

Practical advice for parents on achieving a sleep routine.

• Choose a fixed two-hour period in which the infant should go to bed, e.g. 19:30 – 21:30, and try to stick to it every day as much as possible.
• A fixed sleep routine that includes e.g. bathing, feeding, lullaby, in the same room with dim lighting also helps.
• Some parents offer a meal between 22:00 – 00:00. In some cases this helps babies wake up less during the night and in others it doesn’t.

Recognizing signs of sleepiness:

• The baby may yawn
• Make nervous movements or may be upset and cry
• May be more lethargic than usual
• If he is older he may rub his eyes.
• Place the baby in the crib when he is sleepy but not yet asleep.
• Wrapping especially small babies in a sheet can help but should be done with guidance.
• Training techniques such as “controlled crying” may have short-term results but have not been proven to help.
• In periods of anxiety such as Ages 9 – 12 months, parents’ response to crying and the attempt to calm them down before putting them back in the crib usually helps overcome “separation anxiety”

Thus, children can reach the long-awaited sleep regulation usually between 12 – 18 months.