Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Toddler Sleep Cycle

By Chetan Chopra


How much rest does my infant require?

Your baby needs lots more sleep than you need. In a 24-hour day, the normal newborn sleeps for 16 hrs. Even at a few months, your newborn will need to sleep for about fifteen hours out of 24 hours.

Your little one's sleep will not include long hours of sleep, even during the night. In the beginning she'll need to get up for feeds. From when your baby is born to when he/she is three months old, your infant will sleep for short periods, with lengthier spells at nighttime.

The pattern of the sleep cycles will depend on your infant. He/She will most likely sleep for small periods like 2 hours the day and 4-6 hours at night. Some babies sleep through the night in weeks, while others take 12 months or even more to achieve this.

As your child grows, he/she will slowly wake for longer time spells. By the time she is two, your toddler will nap for about 13 hrs a day, with only one daytime nap of about one hour 30 minutes.

Signs of Fatigue

Your newborn will let you know if she needs rest. Look for these prevalent signals of tiredness:

* Rubbing eyes

* Yawning

* Looking away from you

* Fussing

Don't wait right until your little one is overtired to put her to bed. An overtired infant has a lot more difficulty falling and staying asleep. Endeavor to stay a step ahead by looking for the hints of fatigue before your baby gets cranky.

It helps to get a little rocker or bouncer to put your baby to sleep. Best part is, you can shop for baby products online.

What's a baby's sleep like

Child sleep cycles are much shorter than that of grownups, and babies spend a lot more time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, that is considered essential to the development of their mind. REM slumber is lighter than non-REM sleep, and easily disrupted.

All of this unpredictability is actually a necessary period for your toddler and it will not last too long - although it may feel like an eternity when you are sleep-deprived.




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