Sleep - an important component of the full development of the child of the first year of life. It is in the first year of life that a little man spends most of his time in a dream. I, like any other attentive mother, was always interested in the mystery of infant sleep and dreams. After all, everyone knows that a quiet sleep in a child - a pledge of a quiet rested mom and vice versa.
Why do we need a baby a dream?
Without sleep, there can be no normal full development of the child. During sleep, growth hormone is released - a pledge of the proper development of the baby. Sleep has a beneficial effect on the development of the baby's brain. It is known that the nervous system is actively developing in the first year of life. So, by the time of birth only 25% of brain cells have been formed, in a six-month-old child - 66%, and by the age of one this figure is already 85.9%. This explains the longer duration of total daily sleep in small children, especially in the first half of life.
Duration of infant sleep
How much should babies sleep? Strict certain rules, suitable for all children unconditionally, no. Each child has his own regimen and the rhythm of sleep inherent in nature itself. Therefore, I will give the average rates recommended by pediatricians.
The newborn sleeps an average of 16-18 hours a day, and the baby at the age of four to six weeks - 15-18 hours a day. At four months the child is already sleeping 12-14 hours a day, including 2 short daytime sleepings, approximately two hours each. At the sixth month of life, a baby sleeps at night about 10-11 hours, and two short daily sleeps of 2 hours each remain mandatory. From nine months to one and a half years, a child's night sleep lasts on average 10-11 hours, and again two daytime sleeps last for 1-2 hours each. More active children by this age can go to a one-day nap.
Do not worry if the baby does not adhere to the above sleep rates. The main thing is to observe the child's behavior and orient in his individual mode of the day.
What do babies dream about?
Us, adults, have always been interested in the secrets of infant dreams and dreams, because the kid is not yet able to tell about his "nocturnal impressions."
What can a small capuchic dream? First, it can be emotions, and, secondly, seen and heard. It is interesting that the dreams of the baby would be enough for several adults! This is due to a longer phase of "fast sleep". But at about 8 months, the rapid sleep of the infants takes the same proportion of the total duration of sleep, as in adults, 20-25%.
Dreams for the baby are needed for the development of his brain. This explains the maximum number of dreams during the rapid development of the brain (up to 6 months). During the "fast" sleep with dreams, we can observe smiles, grimaces and "sobs" from the side of the baby.
In a dream, as in the waking period, there is a close connection between the baby and the mother. It is proved that the child dreams of a mother's breast. This is one of the arguments in order not to use a pacifier in order to calm the baby. You do not want a toddler to dream of a piece of latex or silicone? .. As many positive emotions as possible, a gentle mother's voice and lullabies contribute to the occurrence of bright and colorful dreams in your child.
Types of infant sleep
The dream of an adult is significantly different from that of a small child. The adult's sleep is divided into two main periods: the phase of fast (paradoxical) and the phase of slow sleep. A quick dream is a dream full of dreams. But during the period of the newborn, a person stays, in essence, in a transitional state between sleep and vigil, in a state of more or less active half-memories. Unlike an adult, the baby can be divided into six stages of sleep, knowing which, you can better understand the reactions and behavior of the baby.
Deep and calm sleep. In this phase of sleep, the child has clenched fists without the least obvious movements, but nevertheless the muscles of the body are in a tonus. This phase produces a very important growth hormone for babies.
Active paradoxical dream. For this phase, the following symptoms are typical: the child seems to be excited, with pronounced facial expressions, grimaces and smiles, eyes move under semi-closed eyelids, handles and legs make minor movements, breathing is irregular, with pauses that can last up to 15 seconds. It seems that the child will soon wake up.
A nap. This state of the transition period is half asleep. At this point, do not take the child in his arms or talk with him, because it can be easily awakened.
A calm awakening. In this phase, the child is calm, carefully examines the surrounding environment, moves little, but can "answer" you with a smile.
Active awakening. The child is very tense, more likely even excited, moves the handles and legs. It seems that the baby can easily wake up.
Excited awakening. A sign of this phase is the following behavior: the child turns, loudly screams, and it's hard for you to calm him down. The predominance of these phases is characteristic for the first weeks of life. Gradually they decrease and disappear until the end of the third month.
Do not interfere with your child's sleep cycle. Try not to confuse the state of vigil and active paradoxical sleep when the child seems nervous, opens his eyes, smiles or turns and whimpers in a dream. Do not take the baby in his arms. Do not think that he needs it, then it will just be hard for him to fall asleep. Wait until the child manifests his desires more clearly and clearly. You will quickly learn to distinguish these all states of infant sleep.
Sweet dreams to you and your cubs!