Causes of poor sleep in infants. Sleep problems
The reasons leading to this condition depend on the age of the baby.
Insomniaatmonthlychild called:
- hunger and thirst;
- overfilled diaper;
- and gaziki;
- high temperature;
- nasal congestion;
- pain in the ears or throat;
- itching;
- dry air in the room;
- tight, uncomfortable clothing;
- lack of regimen - the baby confuses day and night.
Insomniaatone year oldchild due to:
- strong impressions, excitement during the day;
- diseases that cause discomfort from the internal organs;
- uncomfortable position during sleep;
- a hearty meal at night;
- fear due to the absence of a mother nearby (if the child is used to sleeping with his mother);
- nightmares;
- extraneous noise, bright light, stuffiness, cigarette smoke;
- violation of the usual ritual of falling asleep when moving to another place.
Insomnia in a baby: what to do?
Insomnia in newborns and infants can manifest itself as follows:
- the baby cannot fall asleep for a long time;
- often awakens at night, sleep is superficial;
- some children do not sleep all night long and fall asleep only in the morning.
- What to give a child with insomnia? You should not immediately start with drugs. If the condition is not caused by somatic or infectious diseases, you can take the following steps:
- Establish, feed and put the child to bed at a strictly defined time, do not let the newborn sleep more than three hours in a row during the day, and the older child - no more than twice a day.
- Walk with the baby 2 hours before bedtime.
- Before a night's sleep, create a calm environment for the baby, turn on the night light, you can listen to quiet music, read a fairy tale, sing a lullaby. Let going to bed turn into a ritual for the baby.
- Make a relaxing massage, a bath with chamomile, mint, hops, lavender, which have sedative properties.
- Do not overfeed your baby at night. Do not drink exciting drinks - coffee, strong tea. Prevent the baby from being hungry: if breast milk is not enough, add formula. Do not teach the baby to eat at night: it is better to give a bottle of soothing tea instead of the breast.
- Well ventilate the room, do wet cleaning.
- Change the diaper more often, wash the baby's genitals with warm water to avoid diaper rash and itching.
- Put on the baby spacious cotton pajamas, check that the bed is comfortable, not very hard and soft.
- Make sure that older children do not get overexcited during the day, do not load with an excess of new information, do not create stressful situations. At home, to find out the relationship is not in front of the child.
- Do not allow watching TV, using mobile and computer devices before going to bed.
- Do not teach the baby to sleep in his bed, he should get used to sleeping separately from his mother.
If insomnia is caused by medical conditions, you should see a doctor and treat the underlying cause.
Treatment of insomnia in infants
With colic, it is recommended to spread the baby more often on the stomach, on a hard surface for better gas discharge. After feeding, hold the baby upright, wait until there is a burp (so that the gas does not linger in the tummy and intestines). giving him dill water, which removes the phenomena of flatulence and has a sedative effect.
If the nose is stuffy, clean the nasal cavity from mucus and crusts with cotton turundas, do wet cleaning daily.
For pain in the ears, make cotton compresses with camphor oil.
For diaper rash and itching, rinse the genitals with warm water with herbs that have a disinfecting effect - string, chamomile. Apply special anti-allergic creams and ointments for newborns.
If all of the above measures have not had the desired effect, insomnia continues, you can resort to help:
- soothing decoctions and herbal tinctures. These are lemon balm, mint, valerian, motherwort, chamomile. The tincture is prepared as follows: 2 teaspoons of dry raw materials are poured into 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, strain. Drink baby and mom 1 teaspoon during the day;
- special methods of muscle relaxation and acupressure of the baby, which can be learned in the courses of young mothers;
- in older children - soothing exercises;
- aromatherapy - massages, baths, aromatic pillows, sticks with essential oils from lavender, mint, hop cones, geranium, oregano, rose.
Can sleeping pills be given to babies?
Sleeping pills of the group of barbiturates, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine and bromine derivatives, antihistamines are categorically contraindicated for newborns and infants. These drugs have a toxic effect on the developing brain of a child, which can lead to irreversible consequences in the future.
Is there a special sleeping pill for newborns?
There are no special sleeping pills, you can use some homeopathic medicines, remedies traditional medicine. Even combined herbal preparations "Novo-Passit", "Persen", "Hare", "Baiu-Bai" are not recommended for children under one year old. Magne B6 is also contraindicated.
You should always remember that not a single remedy, even the most harmless at first glance, can be given to a baby without consulting a doctor! The doctor will evaluate the effectiveness of the drug, possible side effects, determine the optimal dose and duration of treatment.
Sleeping pills for babies: a list of the best drugs
- "Dormikind" is a homeopathic remedy that has a hypnotic and sedative effect.
- "Glycine" is an amino acid that improves the functioning of the brain, relieves psycho-emotional stress. Before use, it is necessary to dissolve the tablets in 1 teaspoon of water.
- Soothing teas - "Evening Tale", "Soothing Children's", "Calm down". They have a sedative effect, have a beneficial effect on the processes of digestion. It is necessary to pour 1 tea bag with a glass of boiling water, cover with a lid, leave for 5 minutes. Give your child 30 minutes to drink before bed.
Alina Veits, psychoneurologist, candidate of psychological sciences, specially for the site
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Bad daytime sleep of the baby. Many mothers and fathers face this problem. Babies experience poor sleep in different ways. Some children do not fall asleep normally during the day, others either do not sleep at all or wake up periodically. Moms, dads, grandmothers in such cases try to rock the babies. However, the children do not fall asleep anyway. And they don't sleep for various reasons. In various ways, a child's problematic daytime sleep can be solved. When the baby sleeps well during the day, mommy can also spend this time on rest.
A baby needs much more sleep than an adult. If an adult does not get enough sleep, then he has low working capacity, lethargy, rapid fatigue sets in, then poor sleep affects the newborn even worse.
Adults often say that a child grows when he sleeps. And there is some truth in this statement. Babies develop while they sleep. Their health is getting better. The baby, even despite a little activity, spends a lot of energy. And the child can restore strength just when he sleeps. The baby develops physically during sleep. He also becomes stable and strong psyche. If the baby sleeps restlessly during the day, then he:
- will get tired very quickly;
– will be hyperactive or highly aroused;
- may get sick more often due to a weakened immune system;
- will develop poorly physically and mentally.
In the first months of life, the baby needs a lot of time to sleep. Its duration and quality will affect the health of the child. In order for the baby to develop well mentally and physically, he needs a lot of time for daytime sleep. And it is important that the child sleeps well.
How many days a child should sleep
In infants, the daily regimen is unstable. Newborns eat mostly on demand. And after they eat, children usually fall asleep. It is not easy to say exactly how much time a child at such a young age should sleep during the day. However, we can talk about the duration of children's sleep per day. Up to three months, babies need to rest a day from 18 to 20 hours. But it also depends on the characteristics of the kids. After all, they are different. For some, this time is not enough for sleep, and for some children even a lot. According to experts, babies need to sleep from sixteen to twenty hours a day.According to the following signs, moms and dads can watch their children and find out if the baby is sleeping enough:
- the baby is constantly active for five or more hours;
- the child falls asleep restlessly;
- the newborn wakes up often and sleeps little;
- the baby is overexcited, restless and capricious;
- a baby sleeps fifteen hours or less per day.
If you observe any of these signs, then we can conclude that the child has problems with sleep. It's best to find a reason. You can do this yourself parents, or you can consult with a pediatrician. If the problem with poor sleep of the newborn is not solved, then he may have health problems.
Why a child may not sleep well during the day, and how to deal with the problem
Babies can sleep poorly for a variety of reasons. This can happen during illness. But if this reason is not taken into account, then a child’s sleep may be poor in the following cases:
- no day mode;
- the child wants to drink or eat;
- stuffy room;
- the bed is uneven or the baby is dressed in uncomfortable clothes;
– bright light or loud sound;
- the microflora in the intestines and the digestive system are not fully formed.
When the daytime mode is not set, then this affects the daytime sleep of the child. In this case, already from the 2nd month of a child's life, it is necessary to establish his daily routine. And the baby will sleep better.
If a newborn wants to eat or drink, then because of this, he can wake up. He will fall asleep again only when he is fed or watered.
When the room is stuffy, hot, then in such a room the child does not sleep well. According to experts, in the nursery during sleep, the baby should have an air temperature of 18 or 20 degrees. Maximum - 22. Indoor humidity should be from 50 to 70 percent.
It is uncomfortable for a newborn to sleep in uncomfortable clothes, as well as on a damp diaper. Of course, there are babies who can sleep for a long time in such conditions, but mostly babies wake up and start acting up.
The baby may not respond to bright lights and loud sounds. But best of all, these possible irritants for children nervous system put away. A newborn in a calm environment is much better.
The microflora in the intestines of the baby is formed for more than one month. During this process, the newborn develops pain, colic, and gases accumulate. Parents with such symptoms in a child give him dill water. And after eating, they hold the baby in a “column” for up to twenty minutes.
How to build a daily routine
Keeping a daily routine is important for a child. If it is broken, then it can adversely affect the development of a newborn child. doctors, including the well-known Evgeny Komarovsky, argue that it is necessary to accustom the baby to the daily regimen as early as possible. This does not happen overnight, but gradually. In the first month, the newborn sleeps almost all the time. And already from the 2nd, when the child walks a little, the intervals between feeding and sleeping become longer. At this time, you can just start setting the day mode. Systematicity is important in this process. The child should go to bed every day at the same time. The baby, when he gets used to it, will go to bed normally (problems can arise if the child is sick). When the daily routine improves, then the mother will have the opportunity to relax with the baby. The calm state of the baby also depends on the mood of the mother.
If a newborn does not sleep during the day, this will adversely affect his health and development. Night sleep may also be disturbed if the child is overtired and often tense. The baby, if overexcited, will not be able to fall asleep normally in the evening, his sleep at night can also be restless. Accordingly, in the morning the child will be capricious.
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Myths about newborn sleep
There are many myths about how newborns should sleep. Most parents panic if their baby doesn't go to bed when they want to put him to bed. In fact, there is no way to follow a sleep-wake schedule.
In the first months of life, babies sleep only when they are tired. And it is impossible to force them to sleep when it is convenient for us. If the baby does not fall asleep at the same time, this does not mean that he has problems with sleep. If we talk about newborns, then they need to be fed every two to three hours. It is not necessary to dream of a long night's sleep. Babies have tiny tummy. The food they eat is liquid and easy to digest. So you have to get up at night to feed the hungry little one.
Deep sleep
A night for a newborn is no more than 5 hours of sleep in a row. "Sleep sound like a baby" - this is just a saying that does not correspond to reality.
Only a few babies sleep soundly at night. Even if this is true, it is likely that soon he will wake up more often. And to restore a good night's sleep, it will take more than one year.
Sleep while feeding
Naturally, when the baby falls asleep during feeding. But in the future, such a habit of his can give you a lot of trouble. If the baby constantly falls asleep with a bottle or breast in his mouth, he will soon associate sleep with sucking movements. It will be difficult to teach him to fall asleep without the help of a pacifier. Make sure your baby sucks on the pacifier before he falls asleep, and not during sleep. As soon as you see that the baby closes its eyes, pull the breast or nipple out of his mouth. Let him fall asleep on his own.
Night feedings
Doctors recommend that mothers wake up their babies every four hours for a feed. Many newborns wake up much more frequently. The main thing for mom is to learn to understand when the child woke up from hunger, and when he just needs to be rocked. The various sounds that a baby can make are not necessarily a signal that he has woken up. The child can grunt, whimper, even scream loudly while being in a deep sleep. If the baby "talks" outside, don't wake him up.
Learning to distinguish between day and night
The sleep of a newborn lasts from 16 to 18 hours. It is divided into 6-7 periods. You can teach your child to distinguish between night and day, that is, sleep more at night. Let the child sleep during the day in a room full of light. Let him hear what is going on around him. And at night - in a quiet dark room. Evening bathing before going to bed will also help.
care mistakes
Sleep problems in infants may be associated with a violation of the feeding and care regimen:
- Swaddle your baby before feeding.
- Don't wake a sleeping wet baby to change his diaper.
- Don't wake your baby even if it's time for feeding.
- Don't wake your baby if he falls asleep while feeding.
- Bathe the baby in the evening before you feed him for the last time (at 22-23 hours).
Introduction
Baby sleep and newborn sleep norms are very popular topics among mothers. Indeed, the statistics of queries in Yandex on this topic: “A month-old baby does not sleep well, what should I do?” , “A month-old baby does not sleep”, “A month-old baby does not sleep well”, “How should a month-old baby sleep?”, “Why does a month-old baby not sleep or wakes up often?”, “A month-old baby does not sleep at night”, etc. numbered in the thousands.
I will say right away that I am not a specialist in sleep disorders in a newborn baby, so I do not pretend to be an expert. I am a loving mother, who really wanted to help her baby not wake up every hour and make her baby sleep peacefully. I just want to share my experience and I really hope that it will be useful.
My situation.
I will describe briefly, maybe your situation is similar to mine and it will be easier for you that you are not alone.
The birth of the first child was successful. Good maternity hospital, newborn's Apgar scores 9-10. The child is healthy. Everything is fine, with some exceptions ... my restless child, in my understanding, does not rest (the child’s rest for me: he ate, fell asleep and sleeps for 3-4 hours until the next feeding), constantly screams, cries, demands a breast and “hangs” on it hours. As soon as I put him, seemingly asleep, into the crib, he screams and smacks again, demanding breasts and so CONSTANTLY!
I couldn't do anything. NOTHING! Even brush your teeth and eat. I was NOT READY for this! HONESTLY!
Like many mothers, after reading articles about the sleep norms of a newborn baby and learning that the newborn is sleeping most days, I grabbed my head, because my baby slept not 20-22 hours, but 8-10 hours a day! My baby would wake up every half an hour or an hour and cry a lot.
When I asked a neonatologist (newborn specialist) about why my baby sleeps so little and often wakes up and how much he should sleep at his age, the specialist replied that there is no such thing as a child sleeping little, there is a concept that parents sleep little.
Yes, I agree that it’s not enough, but I agree that the norms are averaged and all babies are individual, but it shouldn’t be that the baby wakes up every half hour and asks for a breast. And where is the full sleep and rest for the child? After all lack of sleep is dangerous for the child's body.From constant lack of sleep, many organs and systems are unbalanced, the child is deficient in many enzymes and hormones that are produced during sleep. Therefore, the task of establishing sleep has become paramount for me.
When my baby slept for 1.5 hours at night, I was happy. If the mothers with whom we walked in the yard said how much their babies sleep at night (5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night), I honestly envied, despite this feeling. It was hard for me.
Due to the fact that I was nervous and practically did not sleep, because. I just didn’t have time to fall asleep, the child woke me up again and again to eat, milk began to disappear, which was already not enough. About how I restored lactation in my next note (in preparation).
I was on the verge of collapse! Lack of sleep, the whole day with a baby in her arms, they feed me literally from a spoon, as soon as I remove my chest and the baby cries ... I wanted to solve this issue and I began to look for options.
While I was breastfeeding the baby for hours, I simultaneously studied various sources, read books, asked for advice from the same mothers "for good luck or misfortune." I understood that healthy sleep is very important for the development of a child, a striking deviation from the norm of children's sleep made me wonder if everything is fine with my baby? And how can I help the baby and myself in this situation? So...
Causes of restless sleep in infants and solutions
or "13 T" for loving mothers
1. Injuries. If your child does not sleep well and often wakes up, as in my case, it is important to find the cause. To be honest, we did not identify the cause in time. My experience in this matter was not enough and, unfortunately, we did not get an experienced specialist. All routine examinations revealed nothing. They did not respond to my pain and I took it for the norm.
I learned that we have a rotational subluxation of the first vertebra Atlanta (birth injury) at the age of 6, when my child, despite long sessions with a speech therapist, did not get up the sound “P”. It is with this diagnosis that a violation of the venous outflow can be observed, which provokes an increase in intracranial pressure, headaches, tinnitus, back and shoulder pain, tearfulness, poor and restless sleep in the baby, muscles are tense, convulsions occur, regurgitation after feeding. It was practically all about us. Fortunately, the speech therapist was a guru in his field and referred us to an experienced neurologist, who found the reason for our poor speech and light sleep in infancy. Before that, no doctor had ever diagnosed anything like this. The question "why?" remains unanswered. Therefore, look for a specialist who will prescribe the necessary procedures for you and the sooner the better. In the future, you will avoid many problems (for example, flat feet, inattention, etc.). By the way, later, talking with a breastfeeding specialist and remembering the fact that the baby hung on the chest for hours, I found out that nature helps to correct injuries in this way, the baby actively and a lot sucks at the breast to bring his body into a comfortable state.
2. Silence. Create silence. In a newborn baby, the phase of superficial sleep lasts longer than the phase of deep sleep, this mechanism is provided by nature itself so that the baby, in case of danger, can easily wake up and call for help with a cry. As the brain structures mature, the deep sleep phase increases and the child begins to sleep more soundly and does not wake up often. These features should be taken into account and try, if possible, to exclude loud and harsh sounds next to the sleeping toddler.
For children who sleep restlessly, it is important to create a competent sleep care environment. Indeed, in children, the processes of nervous excitation predominate over the processes of inhibition. No TVs, domestic scandals, bright lights, etc. In the room where the baby is sensitively sleeping, it should be quiet, period. We do not listen to any talk that someone has a baby sleeping with noise. Let someone sleep, and you have your own special baby and your task is to create conditions for him to have a good rest.
3. Darkness. An important condition for sleep. The sleep hormone melatonin is produced in the dark. Let there be thick curtains in the room. No nights.
4. Warm bath before bed. Helped my baby to calm down and relax the muscles. But for some, taking a bath can be an exciting moment. Watch.
5. Warm mother's hands making a light stroke of the back of the baby. A light massage soothes, lulls and relaxes the muscles.
6. A three-hour walk in a stroller in the fresh air in any weather. My child in the stroller in nature slept perfectly, while you walk, the child sleeps. For me, children's sleep is a value and we walked a lot and for a long time. Therefore, if a walk helps a baby sleep, take a walk.
7. Warm and full food. Mother's milk or formula. The child must be fed. If the child is hungry, he will not sleep soundly. If you feed breast milk, remember, he eats only when SAM lets go of the breast. When my child was full, he could sleep for 1.5 hours. For me it was a fairy tale, honestly.
8. Temperature and humidity in the room. It seems to be a truth that has already set the teeth on edge, but it is rarely observed by parents, but how important it is for a good sleep. Therefore, I will dwell on this issue in more detail. A bit of science to understand why all this is needed.
The baby has imperfect mechanisms for regulating body temperature. The metabolism is very intensive, accompanied by the production of a significant amount of heat. And it is important for the baby's body to get rid of this heat either through the lungs or through the skin. If T air temperature in the room above 18-19 degrees, the heat loss is markedly reduced. And it is important to lose heat! Therefore, the baby loses it through the skin, forming sweat, with which water and salts are lost, and the reserves of both in the newborn are very small. Even with a slight lack of fluid, the work of all systems and organs is significantly disrupted. Diaper rash appears, the baby swells, and his tummy hurts (thick intestinal juices due to lack of fluid are difficult to digest food), a feeling of thirst quickly sets in (the baby wakes up and asks for water), thrush appears in the mouth, because thick saliva, due to a lack of fluid, it does not fulfill its functions, there are dry crusts in the nose that make it difficult to breathe (sometimes the baby cannot even suck), a feeling of "sand" in the nasopharynx, etc. And all this leads to restless sleep of the baby. Therefore, the temperature in the children's room should be above 18-19 degrees, there should not be a feeling of lack of fresh air in the room, and the baby's clothes should be light. It is important that there is enough fluid in the baby's body. Relative humidity. The drier the inhaled air, the more fluid the child’s body spends on moisturizing it, and what additional water losses lead to, I wrote above. The optimal relative humidity in the children's room is 50-70%.
Here you can help all sorts of humidifiers. Humidifiers that create a “cold mist”, such as an ultrasonic humidifier, are extremely helpful. Ramili Baby AH 770 compact and quiet, as well as wet cleaning, open water containers, etc. Before going to bed, be sure to ventilate the children's room.
9. Anxiety away. Mom needs to be calm. Here, use any calming techniques that are acceptable for you and safe for the child. Try to find time for them. Involve relatives. Your condition is very important first of all for yourself. A tired and nervous mother will not be able to give warmth, love and restful sleep to the baby. We can only give what we have.
10. Something worries the child. The kid is very small and cannot explain that he has a headache, tummy, throat or something else. He just cries out loud! Find out and eliminate the cause. The reason may be a wet diaper, because. feces and urine-thermonuclear mixture for delicate baby skin. The cause may be itching caused by the baby's allergy to something. Watch, connect all your love and maternal intuition and you will definitely find the reason.
11. Creative musical compositions Help you. Find soothing music for newborn sleep. For some, this is the music of W. Mozart, for some, the sounds of nature, the sound of rain or the singing of birds, for some, white noise helps. My son was soothed by the composition Eros Ramazzotti and Cher Piu Che Poi. I have recommended it to many of my friends with restless kids, who thanked me for such a discovery. My screaming son was silent even when I dressed him for a walk. Seek and find. Music to help.
12. Only breasts or is it still a dummy? Here you decide. I was a clear opponent of nipples, because. the doctors scared me that the child would develop a malocclusion and I, as a loving mother who does a lot in science, listened to them. As a result, my anxious son held his chest for hours and the only way he could sleep for 2 hours in my arms. As soon as I quietly cleaned my chest, he woke up. I gave the pacifier after 1 month and my son became much calmer and began to sleep better, but it was already too late, the baby did not suck the pacifier for a long time, as well as the bottle with the mixture. With a pacifier, he would be calmer and would sleep better, this is a fact .. What to do is up to you. With a bite, everything will be fine if you do not use the pacifier for a long time. Who would have said this before...
13. Patience, a great desire to help the baby. All children and situations are individual. I noticed in my child such a feature that in order to fall asleep again, he needs to create the same situation when he fell asleep and fell asleep. For example, when my son, falling asleep, sucked his breast, then waking up, he again looked for her to fall asleep. Therefore, I slept with him in order to have time to sleep myself and in time, until the baby had time to scream, to give him what he loves so much. Once I managed to transfer my son to the crib and he woke up in a new place, and not in my arms. His cry was so indignant that it took me much longer to calm down. This is where my experiments with separate sleep ended.
You have your own way and your own effective recipes. Listen to your mother's intuition and sincerely want to help your baby. You will definitely find the causes of restless sleep of the baby-baby and ways to make his sleep healthy. Remember that all difficulties are temporary.
Happy mother Olga.
Sleep plays a key role in the development of a growing organism. Therefore, he childhood takes about a third of the day. The duration of rest for a child in the early period of life is almost twice as long as that of an adult. In recent decades, many breast babies sleep less, while waking hours increase. As a result, this affects the behavior of the newborn and his general health.
In a state of rest, in all people, cell growth and the formation of the nervous system occur. These processes are especially important for babies. At this age, it takes about 16 hours to rest. In the first two months, the child may be capricious for unknown reasons, experience hunger at irregular intervals. The individual rhythm of nutrition is only being established, so the body does not have time to get saturation in one feeding.
A clearer daily regimen of sleep and wakefulness is established at 8–9 weeks of age. Gradually, the duration of rest in infants is reduced, and the intervals between meals increase.
It's important to know! The biorhythm of newborns is influenced by the habits of loved ones. It is physiologically important to go to bed before 10 pm, this will also affect the daily routine.
Normally, for full development, rest should alternate with a 2-hour wakefulness. Given the individual characteristics of the baby, parents gradually understand how much they need to walk and sleep, when to eat. Often in infancy, there are problems associated with the duration of sleep, violating regime moments at night and during the day.
Baby's short sleep
Normal sleep consists of several cycles, each of which has deep and shallow phases. In childhood, this cyclicity is supplemented by short-term awakenings with fluctuating intervals of about 30 minutes. When children wake up, it is difficult for them to return to their previous state, unlike adults. Why do babies have this feature? Their unformed psyche and other factors play a role here.
Causes of violations
All babies are individual. Some sleep a lot, others a little less. Those situations seem unusual when the baby does not want to sleep at all or starts screaming and crying. Such disorders in newborns can be caused by the influence of the following factors:
Sometimes the cause of the pathology is the physiological changes in the developing organism. The growth of teeth, bones, and organ systems can be painful. The process of adapting to a new food at first causes intestinal colic, stool disorders, and bloating. Therefore, the baby is naughty, cannot fall asleep.
It's important to know! Often, this symptomatology is a consequence of the fact that the parents had bad habits (alcoholism, smoking, drug addiction) or the mother gave birth after an infection.
Like an adult, a newborn child sleeps little in the presence of a somatic disease. Due to age, the baby cannot complain about the existing discomfort.
The following disorders may be the cause of anxiety:
- Lack of vitamin D, leading to neuro-reflex excitability.
- Anemia.
- Allergic reactions accompanied by skin itching.
- Runny nose.
- Cough.
- Sore throat.
- Otitis.
- Increased intracranial pressure.
Occurring sleep disturbances are also noted when the baby wants to eat. Therefore, waking up, he can give signals that he is experiencing a strong feeling of hunger.
Dangerous
It's important to know! The situation is alarming when the baby constantly cries and refuses to sleep without good reason: the environment around him is comfortable, there are no signs of poor health. Such cases require special attention, as they may indicate the development of neurological disorders.
Harmless
It is considered normal and natural when infants, waking up, whimper, sob. In such cases, the touches and hugs of the mother will be sufficient.
Harmless reasons that do not require a visit to a doctor are:
- Excess daytime sleep. If the child slept a lot at lunchtime, then he can be naughty at night.
- An excess of impressions and information received during the day.
- The presence of external stimuli.
- Overwork.
- Parental Attention Deficit Syndrome.
- Changes in the diet schedule (began to wean from the chest, had dinner late).
It's important to know! Dr. Komarovsky believes that sometimes a mother herself creates problems for her children, allowing them the unacceptable: long motion sickness, outdoor games in the evening. This will be bad for your vacation. Usually, the regime is getting better when adjustments are made to the baby's lifestyle.
Associated symptoms
If the situation does not change within a few weeks, this is an alarm signal. The appearance of dangerous symptoms at night should be even more alarming.
- Excessive daytime sleepiness.
- Convulsive convulsions.
- Screams.
- Change in breathing as a sign of primary apnea.
- Confusion on arousal.
- Fear of falling asleep.
Some babies are initially born with abnormalities. Such symptoms indicate the development of pathology and require a thorough diagnosis in the early stages.
Ways to solve problems
It is necessary to resort to solving the problem of poor sleep in infants when the cause of the disease is identified. If the violations are not serious, usually parents try to cope on their own. Other situations require qualified assistance.
Independent actions of parents
Most parents understand the importance of adequate rest during infancy and are worried about why their newborn baby sleeps so little. Before contacting a pediatrician, some resort to a set of measures that create a comfortable environment.
Among them, the following will be useful for babies:
Ventilate the room regularly.
- Establish a regimen for evening and daytime falling asleep: go to bed at the same time.
- Dim the light.
- Wear not too warm clothes.
- Organize the right bed. It must be individual and permanent.
When parents eliminate external factors, the child quickly falls asleep. If such actions do not help, signs of serious pathologies should be suspected. These may include CNS or respiratory disorders. Therefore, it is better, without delay, to seek help from a doctor.
Asking for help from specialists
The cause for concern is those cases when the problem cannot be solved on its own. In this case, the symptoms of pathology can become more pronounced and prolonged.
It is worth paying attention to the presence of the following changes in the baby:
- Turning the head in a certain direction or throwing it back.
- Enlargement of the orbit of the eyes, resembling surprise.
- Twitching of the chin.
- Crying with active mobility of the limbs.
- Sleep disorders, accompanied by changes in mood and behavior.
- Respiratory failure.
Such symptoms require timely consultation with a neurologist. The doctor selects drugs that have a hypnotic effect and reduce the frequency of night awakenings.
Popular pharmacological groups in this therapy are:
- First generation antihistamines.
- Antidepressants.
- Benzodiazepines.
Attention! Drug therapy should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor. It is not worth using such drugs for a long time, as they tend to be addictive. Often, experts come to the conclusion that the psychological approach gives the best effect.
Consequences of sleep disorders in the newborn
Progressive symptoms in the infant make him moody, irritable, cause loss of appetite, as he is awake most of the time. The consequences affect the mother as well. Due to her worries and fatigue, her milk levels are dropping.
For the full mental and physical development of the newborn, daytime rest is also important. If it is absent or short-term, the growing organism will suffer.
Over time, negative consequences appear:
- Increased emotional excitability.
- Decreased immunity.
- Fast fatiguability.
- Memory lapses, inattention.
- Obesity.
- Risk of occurrence diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
- Delayed mental and physical development.
- hallucinations.
The physiology of the child's body requires more rest. In the process of growth and development of a person, difficulties arise that should not be overly worried. But if observed major changes in the behavior of a newborn, it is necessary to see a pediatrician as soon as possible.