Archive for July, 2010
Get Baby to Sleep 12 Hours by 12 Weeks | Articles
Giordano says her method can make a huge difference in the lives of parents. She says too many parents live on four hours of sleep a night or have to lie still for hours each day because their baby is only able to nap while lying on their chest. “You can and should take the time to teach your baby how to fall asleep on his or her own and self-soothe him- or herself back to sleep when he or she wakes,” says Giordano.
Giordano believes babies who are the right age and weight can sleep 12 hours at night, one hour in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.
When asked how she came up with the technique, Giordano says, “Sheer desperation! After using different methods with my other three children I decided not to listen to anybody else and do my own thing with the last of my five children, my twin boys.”
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How Not to Get Baby to Sleep
Every new parent knows how difficult it can be to get a fussy baby to sleep, but new research suggests that a parent’s best efforts may only be exacerbating the problem — and that inadequate sleep in childhood can have long-lasting health effects. “It is very hard to let your child cry it out when they are toddlers,” says Dr. Elsie Taveras of Harvard Medical School, referring to parents’ tendency to pick up their children or bring them into the family bed to help them sleep. “But if you approach it differently — ‘I am not even going to start my child making these sleep associations’ — it’s much easier to prevent [future problems].”
That point is central to a new study by Valérie Simard of Hôpital de Sacré-Coeur in Montréal, which examines the link between parents’ bedtime behavior and sleep disturbances in children during infancy and early childhood. Simard administered yearly questionnaires to 987 parents, whose children were 5 months old at the start of the study. She found that certain “maladaptive” parental habits — such as the mother staying with the child until he or she fell asleep, or the parent giving a child food or drink upon nighttime awakening — appeared to develop in response to babies’ early sleep difficulties, at 5 to 17 months of age. In turn, however, some of those calming strategies, which parents reported continuing to practice at 29 to 41 months, led to disrupted sleep — bad dreams, short sleep time and delays in falling asleep — in children of preschool age.
Healthy Sleep in Children
This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive
Good, Sound Sleep for Your Child
Sleep is no less important than food, drink, or safety in the lives of children. Although this may seem apparent, many of us actually do not allow our children to get the critical sleep they need to develop and function properly.
It’s certainly not something we do on purpose. As a matter of fact, we often don’t think much of it, and that is the problem. With parents working long hours, schedules packed with school, after-school activities, and other lifestyle factors, naps are missed, bedtimes are pushed back, mornings start earlier and nights may be anything but peaceful. Missing naps or going to bed a little late may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It all adds up, with consequences that may last a lifetime.
Medical Terms: Infant Sleep Patterns
The birth of a baby brings in lots of responsibilities for the parents. Though the only thing that parents want after taking care of the baby’s needs the whole day, is to have a peaceful sleep at night. However, it does not take parents to realize that they have to say good bye to their sleep for at least a few months. Newborn babies, unlike adults cannot recognize day and night and will take time to adjust to the the 24 hour clock. Hence, the first few weeks of the baby’s life goes in sleeping for the most of the time in the day and as well as at night. It is said that a new born infant sleeps for an average of 16 hours in a day. However, this surely varies from person to person, as some babies need only 10 to 11 hours of sleep, while there are others who need more than 20 hours of sleep. Though infant sleep patterns will be different for each baby, there is a common pattern that one can observe in the sleeping pattern of little children. Let us take a look how infant sleep patterns work initially and what are the changes that could be seen during the baby’s growth.
Normal Sleep Patterns for Infants
The best way to understand infant sleep patterns is to compare it with adult sleep patterns. When an adult falls asleep, he passes through several stages of sleep, mainly the non-REM and the REM. Non REM (non rapid eye movement) is the stage when the person is in a deep state, while the REM stage is where though the body is at rest, the brain is highly active and it is at this stage that we see dreams. This cycle of active and passive sleep goes around throughout the night and it is usually during the non-REM stage that people wake up.
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Hotels and Sleep | National Sleep Foundation
Anya Orlanska, The Benjamin Hotel’s Sleep Concierge, talks to the National Sleep Foundation about sleep and travel.
What should a traveler expect from a hotel when it’s time to sleep?
A hotel should always provide travelers with a quiet sleeping environment that includes a supportive bed and a selection of pillows. If there is outside noise or other disturbances, guests should be given the opportunity to move to a quieter room in the hotel.
What is your most basic advice for sleep-starved travelers?
We always advise that guests use their beds only for sleeping and avoid reading, working or eating in bed as those actions will make it more difficult to relax in preparation for a good night’s sleep. Further, digestion interferes with proper sleep, so travelers should avoid large meals before retiring.
Tell us what goes into making a hotel room right for sleep.
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: Cloud b Sleep Sheep
Four Soothing Sounds Winner of several industry awards, including the National Parenting Council’s Seal of Approval and the iParenting Media Award, the Sleep Sheep is plush and very cuddly, so it immediately gives a restless child something pleasing and calming to hold on to. It also creates a tranquil environment with four soothing sounds, from Mother’s heartbeat (a steady thumping) to the gentle rhythms of nature. You and baby will both relax as you listen to the quiet stream, spring showers, swooshing ocean waves and harmonious whale sounds, making the Sleep Sheep a kind of audio pacifier that helps take some of the stress and crankiness out of rest time.
Perfect for Naptime Many babies find it hard to settle in their cribs when noises from both inside and outside the house distract and disrupt them. They crave repetitive, comforting rhythms that don’t frighten them. The Sleep Sheep creates a kind of white noise that blocks out the other surrounding sounds, so babies can be lulled into sleep. This parents-little-helper also comes with a Velcro tab so you can secure the Sleep Sheep to the outside of a crib.
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Insomnia in Women
Ever wake up wishing it was Saturday just so you can go back to bed and catch up on more sleep? Tossing and turning in frustration is a big sign of sleep disturbance and it can affect your life in more ways than one. While our bodies long for sleep, it’s not always easy to achieve. Studies show that about 58% of people are getting less than the ideal 7 to 8 hours worth of shut-eye each night.
Sleep problems are common in women over 40 and is often during a time of increased stress levels due to concerns of work, children, finances – the list goes on. Hormonal fluctuations in the lead-up to menopause and during menopause as well could disrupt a woman’s sleep pattern. There is usually a cause for your inability to get a decent sleep pattern, and that could be because your body responds differently to sleep as you get older. Knowing this alone can help a lot and ease your anxiety and help you accept the circumstances of aging.
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Natural Sleep Aids and Remedies
Natural Sleep Aids and Remedies
If you’re searching for a natural sleep aid to put an end to your insomnia, here’s something to keep in mind. Some sleep aids and herbal remedies may help induce sleepiness. But natural products and dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA for quality, dosing, and formulation. That makes it difficult to judge their safety and effectiveness. That’s why it’s important to know as much as you can about sleep herbs before you try a product.
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone produced in the pineal gland in the center of your brain. Melatonin regulates the body’s circadian rhythms. Those are daily rhythms such as your sleep-wake cycle. The levels of melatonin in the blood are highest prior to bedtime.
Can melatonin help me sleep?
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5 Ways to Get to Sleep Faster – Associated Content
We all have those nights where we just can’t fall asleep no matter what we try. I know there has been a time or two where I’ve thrown a pillow at my clock, hoping that the time would wind itself back a couple of hours. You can literally hear the clock ticking down your last minutes of rest before you are due at work the next morning or something else really important.
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Getting Your Baby To Sleep
Getting Your Baby To Sleep
You may use the stars on the left to rate and leave feedback for the current article. No registration is required. Waiting for 5 votes 0.0 of 5 stars (0 votes) — Thanks for your vote Your little angel keeping you up at night? Here are some basics steps you can try to help you get some zzzz’s…
Help your infant develop good sleep habits: Your baby doesn’t pay attention to whether it is day and night. But, when your baby is a few weeks old, you can start teaching them the difference between morning, night, nap time and beddy-bye-time. During the day keep daytime noises at their normal level, wake your baby when it’s time for her feedings, play with her and talk to her. At night turn down the lights, the noise, and your voice when talking to her during her feedings and changes. When your baby is about 1-2 mos. old, put her to bed when she is shows signs of sleepiness but is still awake. Let her fall asleep on her own, You may rock and/or sing to her just while she is awake. Keep a semi-scheduled bedtime routine. When it’s bedtime, show your baby it’s time to settle down by performing the same steps every night.
Here are some simple bedtime routine steps to try: Start with a bath or just washing her hands and face. Change diaper and put pj’s. Singing a quiet lullaby is soothing to the baby when it is a familiar voice. While you prepare your baby for bed, if you prefer not to sing, put in a tape/cd of baby-friendly sounds on low volume and leave it on after you leave the room. Cuddle and rock your baby before you lay her down to bed. Try to make it short and put your baby in her crib while she is still awake.
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