The Effects of Nap Time for Infants
Nap time is a restful period for both you and your infant, but for your little one the period during sleep is also a time when important developmental processes occur. While newborns sleep off and on all day, by 3 to 4 months of age, your infant will settle into a regular sleep schedule. Naps are an important part of this routine for both you and your child because their restorative effects also help ensure good health and temperament.
-
Physical and Cognitive Development
-
Sleep is necessary for crucial physical and cognitive development during infancy. An infant̵7;s brain is undergoing major reorganization and naps provide the necessary time for this to occur. Naps also allow the body to restore itself. There are two states that humans enter during sleep: non-rapid eye movement -- NREM -- and rapid eye movement -- REM. NREM sleep is associated with physical and psychological restoration. During NREM sleep, the blood supply to the muscles is increased; energy levels are re-established; growth and repair of tissue occurs; and hormones needed for growth and development are released. During REM sleep, the brain is active. This is the state in which dreaming occurs and is associated with brain growth and maturation. Your baby has more REM sleep during his morning nap. NREM sleep typically occurs during the afternoon nap.
Temperament
-
Naps are necessary to prevent your infant from becoming overtired. A tired baby might be cranky and she also finds it hard to fall asleep at night. Naps give a brief restorative period for both mom and baby. According to Network Childcare Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring children have an enriched learning experience, a 2010 study by the universities of Montreal and Minnesota found that the amount and quality of sleep that children get in the first 2 years of life is directly related to their ability to develop self-regulation skills, which are vital to good temperament and socialization.
Infant Sleep Needs
-
Every infant is different, and sleep patterns vary from one baby to the next, so there is no single schedule that will work for all infants. However, experts have determined guidelines by age that help parents determine how much sleep their infant needs during daytime naps. According to KidsHealth.org, infants younger than 6 months of age need 16 to 20 total hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Newborns sleep off and on all day, waking every two to three hours, but at around 4 months of age, a sleep pattern typically establishes itself and babies begin sleeping 10 to 12 hours at night. Naps are typically divided into two or three naps, lasting two to three hours each. From 6 to 12 months of age, babies sleep about 11 hours at night, but still require two daytime naps that total three to four hours.
Nap Time Tips
-
Try to put your infant to bed when he is sleepy, but not yet sleeping. This encourages him to fall asleep by himself and to self-soothe so that if he wakes during the night, he can put himself back to sleep. Try to develop and stick to a regular daytime and nighttime sleep schedule and routine. Make your baby̵7;s bedroom a sleep-friendly environment by keeping it quiet and making sure the temperature is neither too hot, nor too cold.
-
-
All new parents look for ways to get their baby to sleep for longer periods at night. Feeding them more formula or breast milk is one idea; others include feeding the baby solid foods, laying him on his stomach to sleep and keeping the baby awake dur
-
Pulling Baby out of the Crib Up to the time he was 10 months old, my son David had always been a good sleeper. Then my family moved into a new house, and all of a sudden, all bets were off. He began waking two, sometimes three
-
There could be instances when the baby won’t nap during the day. Naps during the daytime are essential for a baby since they may help a baby fall asleep comfortably at night. The nap count tends to reduce as the baby grows older, but until then, it i
