A sleeping baby is one of the most precious sights to a new parent's eyes. But many new parents are unaware of the ways infant sleep differs from that of adults. New parents also often wonder about the right way to ensure their child develops healthy sleep patterns, stays safe during the night and gets enough sleep.
Amount and Frequency
Babies need a lot more sleep than their parents do. While adults are told to strive for eight hours a night, babies actually need up to 15 1/2 hours of sleep in every 24-hour period. Sleep is divided into smaller increments, though, with most babies sleeping no more than 5 hours at a time, and usually far less. Most newborns divide their naps fairly equally between day and night, but by 3 months, a baby will gradually be shifting to more night sleep. At 12 months, an infant will spend about 11 hours at night sleeping and about two and a half hours split up between two daytime naps.
Sleep Cycles
Baby sleep cycles are not the same as those of grownups. Instead of sleeping through the night, they awaken frequently. This is because infants spend much more of their sleep time in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep instead of deep sleep. An entire sleep cycle for a baby lasts about 50-60 minutes, which sends them into their light REM sleep about once an hour. If anything is disturbing them, such as a wet diaper or hunger, they will wake up when shifting from deep sleep into REM sleep.
Location
Where a baby should sleep is a controversial subject. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) both promote the idea that an approved infant crib is the only safe place for a baby to sleep. However, cosleeping, sleeping with the baby in the same bed as the mother, is advocated by some prominent pediatricians, such as Dr. William Sears, as well as by La Leche League International, a breastfeeding advocacy group, and the University of Notre Dame Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab, which studies infant sleep environments.
Safety
In 1994, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) issued guidelines stating that infants should be placed on their backs when put to sleep. This "Back to Sleep" campaign was designed to help reduce the risk of SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome. Along with the recommendation for back sleeping, other factors that contribute to safe sleep for a baby include having the baby sleep on a flat, firm mattress and providing a sleep environment free of blankets or pillows that can cover the baby's mouth and nose.
Sleep Training
Some parents practice sleep training, a program of teaching a baby to go to sleep on his own and sleep for longer periods during the night. One method used for sleep training is the Cry It Out method, which aims to train babies to soothe themselves by letting them cry for specific amounts of time. Parents who wish to try sleep training can begin after about six weeks of age.
