How important is sleep
In general, the dream began to be actively explored only in the 1960s. There were attempts to check how many people can stretch without sleep. And even volunteers were found for this. But after the 8th day of research they refused further experiments. According to the "Guinness Book of Records", the world record for "nespaniyu" is 11 days. But the animals had nowhere to go, and they had to go through the test of sleep deprivation to the end. Tragic. After 2-3 weeks of absolute wakefulness, our smaller brothers died. And they had no obvious causes or illnesses. Just everyone died. It was noted that the number of viruses and bacteria in their body before this greatly increased. From what scientists have concluded that sleep strengthens the immune system. But the biggest discovery is that sleep is more important for the body than food. After all, without it you can stretch longer.
Japanese and New Zealand scientists, examining the health and duration of sleep of children, found a link between lack of sleep and excess weight. Only 1-2 hours, which the child does not sleep at night, lead to an increase in the risk of obesity several times. Those of the children who sleep less than 8 hours a day suffer from obesity almost 3 times more often than those who sleep at least 10 hours.
How many hours must children sleep
With age, as we grow older and, consequently, aging, the need for sleep decreases. Newborns sleep an average of 20 hours a day. By the half-year their sleep is reduced by 2 hours, and a one-year-old child spends about 14-15 hours a day sleeping. Just do not rush to evaluate your baby on this scale and get upset in advance. Each organism is individual and each of us has a different sleep norm. Depending on the age, we give daily rates of sleep developed by doctors: 1-2 months - 18 hours; 3-4 months - 17-18 hours; 5-6 months - 16 hours; 7-9 months - 15 hours; 10-12 months - 13 hours; 1-2 years - 13 hours; 2-3 years - 12 hours; 3-7 years - 11-12 hours; after 7 years - 8-9 hours.
Restless sleep
The most common problem among newborns is restless sleep. When the baby does not move away for a minute: he groans, turns, cried, can suddenly wake up with weeping. As if something hurts him and prevents him from sleeping. Most often it is. In carapaces, which are not even six months, usually tummy aches. The cause of this can be dysbacteriosis, gastrointestinal colic, spasms. But, as a rule, gastrointestinal disorders disturb sleep only during the period of exacerbation.
The medicine of the 21st century has not yet solved the cause of the "sick stomach" of infants. If the child is breastfed, then it is customary to blame mother in this first. It is worth it to eat the wrong foods (gas-producing) or drugs, like a baby screams. If the newborn on artificial feeding - means, the mixture is to blame. Experience shows that you just need to survive this period by gritting your teeth. Because, even if the mother sits on water and bread, there is still a reason to cry.
Causing crying can still eruptions or rickets. In rickets due to a deficiency of vitamin D, there is a violation of phosphorus-calcium metabolism. In the initial stages of rickets, there is always an increase in neural-reflex excitability. The child becomes restless, fearful, irritable, noticeably disturbed by sleep. Children often shudder, especially when falling asleep. What to do? All these diseases are not associated with disorders of the nervous system, therefore they are called somatic. To make sure that it is in them, consult a pediatrician. As soon as the baby gets rid of these ailments, sleep will improve.
The child confused day and night
Day sleeps, and at night hums. Yes, it happens and such. Baby does not care when to sleep, and when to play. But my mom and dad have tugovato. The inverted mode of day and night does not arise from neither, nor from this. Enough one night a child does not get enough sleep, as the need for rest will be compensated by a deep and peaceful sleep during the day. And night will be a time of walking and socializing. And the worst thing is that doctors can not help with anything: tablets do not exist. Return life in a normal way will have to do and alone.
What to do? Start with the simplest: from a soothing evening bath. It is desirable that the water is cooler than usual. This will help increase energy consumption and work up an appetite. We fed them and slept. Before going to bed, always ventilate the room. In a cool room, you always sleep better. Somewhere one hour before sleep, begin to observe a certain regime. For example, bathing - dinner - bed - reading fairy tales - breastfeeding (bottle) - muffled light. Follow it day by day, then the baby will develop associations with sleep. And by the end he will nail himself. Try to make sure that the child does not get enough sleep during the day. Do not feel sorry for him, sleepy, and do not let him sleep more than two hours. Less sleep during the day - faster fall asleep at night. Otherwise, you will not be able to reverse the situation.
Experiment and create. One mom, having tried all the methods and already having lost the hope to put the child to sleep, once desperate to go for a walk with the baby right at 3 o'clock in the morning. And he immediately fell asleep. The next day they went for a walk at 2 am, and so gradually walks to 10-11 pm. Only so the baby began to sleep at night. Other parents accidentally discovered that their child is quiet under quiet music. Another thing is that the baby is lulled by the sound of water dripping from the tap. I had to hear many such unusual ways of putting the kids to bed. Maybe you can invent one more.
The child wakes up at night
For a child who is less than 3 years old, one or two awakenings per night are quite normal. Of course, when in your environment there are families where children almost from their birth sleep soundly through the night, involuntary suspicions creep into your head that your situation is abnormal. But rather, this is their situation - a happy exception to the rules, so do not even try to navigate it.
What to do? Sooner or later the child will get used to sleeping all night. But if night wake-ups prevent you from living, then try to bring this happy time closer. The work is not easy. Ideally, the child must fall asleep himself, in his crib, with his favorite toy in an embrace. Having learned to fall asleep independently, waking up at night, he will not be frightened of the new situation and can again easily fall asleep. And if the baby is accustomed to fall asleep with his mother at his side, with the breast or bottle, then, waking up at night, he expects to see what was around him before going to sleep: his mother, chest, nipple. Not having found, it will necessarily be upset. So you need to change your habits. And here you can not do without victims. Be prepared to survive a few troubled nights. If you are a supporter of joint sleep and breastfeeding, then stop giving the crumb breast at the first request. Instead, put his hand on his tummy: let him feel that his mother is near. Or, on the contrary, move away if your presence makes him even more. Sometimes, of course, you will have to yield to the perseverance of the baby, so that the process of weaning from night feedings will be gradual.
Then you can try to teach your child to sleep in their own bed, especially if they have more than a year or two. Prepare yourself for the fact that he does not like your idea at first, he will cry a lot and resist. And then it may very well be that, having got used to his place, he will begin to sleep much more calmly than his mother at his side. For starters, you can put a baby cot to your. Remove from it a lateral back. The kid seems to be sleeping in it, but at the same time and next to her mother. Some take out a pair of twigs in the sidewalk. As a result, a child's lazy will be obtained, through which he can independently climb and get out of the crib. They like these adventures very much.
Start an intermediary toy. It can be any favorite toy, to which it would be nice to cuddle and calm down, waking up at night. Some experts advise to accustom the child to certain night words, something like "tshshsh" or "buy-buy". They should soothe the awakened baby, and at the same time they should be associated with night and sleep. If the child suddenly wakes up, do not turn on the light, behave quietly and calmly, and while he is still drowsy, repeat only these words. And remember: in order to develop a positive attitude for the child to sleep, one should never threaten or punish with sleep. The phrases "you will be capricious - go to sleep", "if you do not listen, no cartoons, and march to sleep!" Only harm the cause. Knowing how many hours a child should sleep, parents can rationally plan the "working" day of the baby. After all, a sleepy child is a healthy child!