A one and a half year old child does not sleep at night. What to do if your child doesn't sleep well at night

Dream - the most important stage for the life of any child. It is during the period of night rest that the body recovers and grows most actively, creating the prerequisites for the harmonious all-round development of the child, his performance at school and a stable psycho-emotional background. Modern children quite often suffer from various sleep disorders, and most of the reasons are physiological or external character and are not directly related to pathologies. What are the main reasons bad sleep in a child and how to fight against them? You will read about this below.

What to do if your child doesn't sleep well at night?

For infants who need constant night feeding, an effective option would be co-sleeping with the mother - even if the baby wakes up, you can quickly give him the breast for feeding without getting out of bed. In addition, an additional factor of calm will be close tactile contact, which is so necessary in the first months of life.

If this scheme does not suit you, then an alternative may be to transfer the baby to artificial formula– they are richer, and in most cases, only one intermediate night feeding from a bottle is enough, as opposed to 2-4 using the breast.

It is worth noting that the translation into artificial feeding must be carefully weighed - under any circumstances, mother's milk is the most useful and necessary for the child, formulas still remain only partial substitutes for the first and most important element baby's food.

I can't resist any of the proposed options.? Then prepare yourself for the fact that a child under one year old will have to spend time at night increased attention, regularly getting up to his crib. It is impossible not to feed him at night or not to calm him down if he wakes up.

Starting from one and a half years, in most cases, the child will no longer wake up hungry at night if he was fed tightly in the evening and additional complementary foods are used in addition to mother's milk. In addition, you can try to solve the child’s problem with fear and nightmares.

First, find out exactly what your child is afraid of, after which you can begin to take active action.. Most effective option– conducting a formal ritual involving the child. Banishing the “beech” from the closet, leaving a night light on at night, dispelling the darkness with a dim light, putting an amulet on the bed with a clear indication of its “special” properties for driving out fears - all such actions, if they are correctly explained to the child with sufficient seriousness and involving the child in the process , works in most cases.

Specifics of a child's temperament

Every child is an individual with his own temperament. Its first signs begin to appear at the age of 1-1.5 years. In international pediatrics there is even a term “ children with increased needs" Such small members of society are easily excitable, demanding conditions and quality external environment, quickly get excited and very slowly “walk away”, prefer to spend most of their free time in the arms of their father or mother. By the age of 2, such character traits are identified by society as capriciousness and bad manners.

The above-described category of temperamental children should be treated with special attention.. A child should not be punished for being excessively emotional - this will greatly traumatize the psyche. There may be several options for resolving the situation:

• Co-sleeping. In fact, it is the only non-alternative measure of psycho-emotional impact that allows you to ensure basic sleep for the whole family. This prospect “shines” for parents until at least 1 year of the baby’s life. If you still try to teach him to sleep in his crib at night on his own, then you should prepare for months of exhausting “spurt” with virtually no night rest to achieve the required result;

• A kind of compromise could be a reasonable alternative. purchasing a children's bed with a removable side wall– she moves close to the parents’ bed, provides psycho-emotional comfort to the child and relative freedom to parents, who are not so constrained by the child’s constant presence in their bed. After some time, the crib can be gradually moved away from the parent's bed, however, without taking the latter out of the room - this way you will gradually wean the child from sleeping together with you. For overly impressionable and excitable children, it is recommended that their sleeping place be moved to a separate room no earlier than 3 years after birth;
• Adaptation and relaxation. Try not to overuse developmental and too active physical activities, visit the pool, gymnastics and often just walk with your child on the street. Before bed, give your easily excitable child warm baths with relaxing aromatherapy and a comprehensive massage. The above measures will allow you to partially remove the negative manifestations of the baby’s special temperament and sleep more peacefully.

Wrong lifestyle

As modern medical research shows, up to 60 percent of children suffer from sleep disorders due to poor lifestyle choices created for them by their parents. We are talking about proper adherence to circadian rhythms, as well as energy expenditure and consumption.

Rare outings for walks, plentiful meals, irregular night rest falling asleep later than 10 pm – all these factors negatively affect sleep. In addition, it is worth considering that some children are so mobile and active that they exhaust their accumulated energy only during a many-hour “marathon” on the street with running, jumping and outdoor games.

How to solve this problem?

• Create a standardized daily routine. You need to get up and go to bed at the same time, it is advisable to go to bed no later than 21 pm. Daytime rest should also be strictly regulated;
• Walks and more walks. Walk with your child as often as possible, fresh air and active movement will help your child throw out accumulated energy and sleep much better;

• Additional sections. An addition (but not an alternative) for your child can be specialized sections for sports exercises, dancing, swimming, etc.;
• Significant limitation of TV and computer viewing. You exchange the child’s imaginary calmness while sitting at the computer or watching cartoons on TV for his good night sleep.

Uncomfortable sleeping environment

For a child's sleep early age external factors are very influential environment. We are talking about the comfort of the environment in the room where the baby is at night. Hot blanket? Does a draft bother you? Are your pajamas pressing on your neck? These and other factors can lead to permanent sleep disturbances.

What should the ideal environment be like?? The best decision – A complex approach, which includes all possible moments that can disturb the baby’s sleep.

• Microclimate. Ideal conditions for a child’s bedroom it is +16 degrees Celsius and humidity is about 90 percent. Try to maintain these parameters by regularly ventilating the room, using air humidifiers if necessary;
• External stimuli. The child's bedroom should have good sound insulation so that he is not awakened by extraneous noise from the street or neighbors. In addition, take care of light insulation by using thick curtains while sleeping;
• Bed. The basis of a child’s bed is as reliable as possible and suitable for the child’s size. It is advisable to purchase an orthopedic mattress, but not too soft, so as not to spoil your future posture. The pillow is moderately flat and small, on natural plant based, like a blanket. Great option of this type are products made from bamboo fiber that allow air and moisture to pass through, providing warmth and a hypoallergenic effect. Bed linen and pajamas are strictly made from natural cotton fabrics, no synthetics.

The child is not feeling well

It happens that a child does not sleep well at night and often wakes up due to the presence of pain syndrome in the area of ​​the abdomen, teeth, head. Enough common occurrence, especially in the first years of a baby’s life, can discourage the latter’s desire to sleep for a long time. How to solve a problem like this?

• In the first months of life digestive system the child is not mature– periodically bloating occurs, problems with the passage of gases and severe abdominal pain are provoked. Try products based on simethicone (for example, Espumisan), as well as natural dill water or tea with fennel;

• When teething, you can use special pain-relieving gels applied to the gums. They are especially relevant at night, along with the use of a pacifier - this will distract the baby’s reflexes during sleep and give him a good rest;
• Headache, muscle pain. The baby’s body is actively growing and is subject to serious stress. Sometimes a child may simply be tired, and his whole body will ache after active day. IN in this case A relaxing shower, massage, and if they are not effective, non-steroidal analgesics such as paracetamol and ibuprofen will help.

Changes in life

In the first years, the baby’s psycho-emotional background is very unstable; the child himself does not always react correctly to certain events in life, especially if they have a personal negative context. Has the child been moved to a separate bedroom? Has there been a second child in the family? Planned move to new apartment? Did your parents have a serious fight? This and much more can greatly worsen a child’s sleep.

The solution to the problem is the baby’s adaptation to changes in life. Don’t be afraid to talk in detail about what happened, explaining to him accessible language about the event. Be patient, try not to forget to pay attention to your child, regardless of the circumstances.

A frequent, one might say chronic, “illness” is the transfer of all strength and energy to the second or third, newly born baby and complete ignoring of the first-born. He feels not only offended, but sometimes he may even hate the brother or sister who gets all the attention.

Be sure to maintain a balance between the need to care for your baby and provide a bit of love to your older children!

In some cases, the psycho-emotional factor of sleep disturbance can be so strong that it is impossible to cope with the problem on your own. In this case, the child will need the help of a qualified specialist – a psychologist, a neurologist. Specially designed therapy sessions will relieve your child of phobias and internal psychological problems, and will also strengthen his psycho-emotional background.

Under any circumstances, if you suspect a sleep disorder serious pathology– immediately contact your pediatrician and undergo a comprehensive examination.

Little children are little troubles, children grow up, but troubles do not go away. It seems that the child will grow up, and by the year it will become easier. He will fall asleep on his own, sleep through the night, and feel better. It happens, but not often. Attentive parents one year old baby They notice that he sleeps poorly and constantly wakes up. Why is this happening? And what needs to be done to correct the situation?

Causes of sleep disturbance in a one-year-old baby

• disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
• nasal congestion associated with allergies, the onset of a respiratory disease;
• violations of microclimatic conditions in the baby’s room;
• lack of sleep patterns (daytime, nighttime), its disturbance, incorrect associations with sleep;
• overwork of the child (physical, emotional);
• extraneous noise;
• wet diaper;
• violation of the diet, as a result of which the child wants to eat or drink at night;
• phobias, nightmares;
• teeth are being cut;
• neurological diseases;
• bad feeling.

These are the main reasons why a baby's sleep may be disturbed. For example, intestinal colic disappear by 3 months of age, but also at one year old This phenomenon may bother the baby from time to time. This is due to the fact that the child tries more and more new products. And some can cause flatulence, be poorly absorbed, or cause allergies and intestinal upset. Such phenomena pass quickly enough and cannot be the cause of permanent disturbances in the sleep-wake pattern.

If your child has a stuffy nose, they may not be able to sleep through the night. Firstly, it is difficult to breathe, and secondly, the brain is not sufficiently supplied with oxygen. Hypoxia affects the state of the baby’s nervous system, and, as a result, the quality of his sleep. It is also difficult to sleep soundly and sweetly if the child is cold or hot, stuffy or uncomfortable.

If a child is overheated (dressed or covered too warmly, there is no flow of fresh air), he will sleep very restlessly, constantly spin and try to throw off the blanket. He can also wake up from thirst. Flashes of light, loud bangs (cars driving past the house with very loud music in the cabin, fireworks) can cause a baby to have poor sleep.

If your baby's diaper is so wet that urine oozes out of it, the baby's skin is irritated - this makes it very difficult for the baby to sleep.

The child should eat fully during the day; if he does not finish eating at every meal, he may be very hungry at night.

The child does not sleep well at night and constantly wakes up if his daily routine is not organized correctly. Children who are not active enough during the day get tired a little, do not sleep very well at night, and wake up constantly. But this does not mean that the child should have no daytime sleep, or should be tortured half to death with games.

Overwork is as detrimental to sleep quality as lack of activity. It would seem that the child missed a daytime nap, is tired, he will sleep all night “without hind legs" But this is not true, firstly, overexcitation makes it very difficult to fall asleep. Secondly, sleep becomes superficial, thirdly, increased physical activity leads to the fact that the baby shudders in his sleep, jerks his legs and arms, and constantly wakes himself up.

If you skip bedtime, when the child shows all signs of fatigue, waiting for “regular time” can overload the nervous system and lead to the fact that the baby will be capricious until midnight. If a child is used to sleeping with his mother, and suddenly they decide to “separate” him from her. He may sleep poorly and wake up constantly without feeling safe.

At the age of one, children’s teeth, or rather the process of teething, can cause a lot of trouble, as in daytime, and at night. Some babies tolerate this process very steadfastly and do not suffer from excessive salivation or severe itching in the gum area.

But not everyone is so lucky, some have so much salivation that babies do not have time to swallow saliva and can choke and the itching is very strong, so that they turn their heads in their sleep and even try to scratch their gums on a pillow or sheet. Is not constant phenomenon, the itching intensifies, then subsides. But during the period of active teething, children sleep poorly and wake up very often.

The child may feel unwell at most various reasons, sometimes they are even difficult to detect, but the malaise will definitely affect the quality of sleep. Children with elevated ICP sleep very poorly and restlessly. Especially when changing weather conditions. It is difficult to fall asleep with a severe headache.

Weather-dependent babies may feel unwell both when atmospheric pressure changes and when solar activity increases. Children suffering various kinds neuroses, they also sleep restlessly, cry in their sleep and often wake up. They are more likely than other children to be disturbed unpleasant dreams, and frightening illusions when falling asleep (this disrupts the process of falling asleep) and when abrupt transition from a state of sleep to a state of wakefulness (for example, with a sharp sound).

Prevention of night sleep disorders

Clean and cool restrooms are the key to healthy sleep for both children and adults.

Even though the child has grown up, daily wet cleaning of his room will not hurt. It is imperative to ventilate the room before going to bed, as well as monitor the temperature. A comfortable temperature for a baby is from 18 to 25 O C (22 O C is considered optimal). If the room is cooler, it is better to dress your baby warmer than to turn on heating devices.

You need to feed your child fully throughout the day; he should not be malnourished. If a baby was born large, he may eat more than what is recommended for his age. If a child is active and does not eat enough during the day, he will often wake up at night and cry until he eats. By the age of one year, the baby should not drink milk at night, and he must be weaned from this habit. But this should be done gradually, replacing milk with baby tea or juice. And then removing this attribute.

There is no need to allow your baby to play too actively before bed. If your child loves to swim, you can give him the opportunity to splash around in the bathtub. If taking a bath relaxes him, it’s good to do it before bed; if it excites him, then an hour before bedtime. By the age of one year, the child should be able to fall asleep on his own (without motion sickness and a bottle of food at night). To do this, you need to form the right associations with sleep.

By this age, it is advised to turn going to bed into a ritual. You can, for example, play with dad for 15 minutes before bed (if he comes late and can’t do it earlier), you can tell your child a fairy tale, sing a song, and put him to bed with his favorite toy. Children respond well to hissing sounds, so if a song has a lot of words with the letter “sh”, this is very good. It can be pronounced long, in a quiet, gentle voice. This will help the baby fall asleep.

If a child is used to sleeping with his mother, and suddenly they decide to wean him and teach him to sleep in a playpen, rest assured, there will be many problems. The baby, as soon as he finds himself in the crib, will wake up, and will wake up several times a night. How a baby should sleep (with his mother or on his own) and at what age a baby should begin to rest independently, these questions still do not have a consensus. In any case, from birth a child must be taught that he has a place to sleep and the ability to fall asleep on his own.

For example, during the daytime sleep he can be put to bed, and at night with his mother. Over time, the child will still have to be taught to sleep on his own. And this will require patience and effort, as well as several sleepless nights for mom. Why does the baby wake up in this case? Because he feels the absence of his mother, a certain emptiness, and he is simply scared. And it will take time to feel safe apart from your mother, even with your favorite toy.

By the age of one year, a child should fall asleep at the same time. In the summer it is at half past nine to nine in the evening, at winter time it can be put to bed half an hour earlier. However, if a child has spent a very active day, and during quiet play before bed begins to rub his eyes and yawn, there is no need to fight for the exact execution of the ritual (swim, sing a song, go to bed). If your child falls asleep, you can skip the bath once. Nothing wrong with that. It is better not to interrupt sleep.

What to do if your child has sleep disorders?

If the child does not sleep well, often wakes up at night and cries, visible reasons If you don’t find it, be sure to show your baby to a neurologist.

If your child is not sleeping well, measure his temperature and pay attention to whether his nose is stuffy. If your child gets sick or you suspect that he gets sick, contact your pediatrician.

Very often, when the heating season begins, when the heating system is turned on, the apartment becomes warm and dry. Everything seems to be fine and comfortable. But excessively warm and dry air dries out the delicate mucous membrane of the nose, leading to its swelling, cracks, and the formation of crusts. In this case, the spout needs to be washed and the room ventilated more often. You definitely need to take your baby for a walk fresh air.

In the summer, when the air is dry and dusty, you may need to use an air conditioning system or purchase a humidifier to create a comfortable environment for your baby.

If you use disposable diapers at night, they may need to be changed more often. An overfilled diaper and irritated skin do not create conditions for comfortable sleep.

Why does a one year old baby wake up too often? Maybe he ate before bed? Or hungry? In the first case, he may suffer from flatulence, in the second he simply needs food. One year old baby It is better not to feed just before bedtime. It is better to do this 1-2 hours before bedtime. The baby is fed, the diaper is clean - but sleep is still poor and fitful. Look into your baby's mouth. If you see swollen gums and slight redness, here is your answer. The teeth are being cut, and this causes great anxiety for the baby. It is worth consulting with your pediatrician about what drops to give him or what gel to use.

Everything is fine, the diaper is dry, the baby is healthy, fed, why isn’t he sleeping? A child may demonstrate “owl habits” simply because he does not want to sleep or is not tired during the day. Some mothers carry their baby in a stroller while walking. At the age of 1 year, the baby needs to move more. It is necessary for him to walk with his legs. You have to lead him by the hand, ride him on all kinds of swings and carousels. It's time to teach him to climb. By the way from mental activity the baby gets tired no less than from physical exercise. Educational games with a sorter, studying with your child pictures of animals and simple actions of people will contribute to the baby’s fatigue and his sleep.

Why else might a baby sleep poorly? Because his mother is nervous. “Nothing is more important than the weather in the house.” These are not empty words, and not an abstraction. Children are very sensitive to the relationship between their parents and to the general background of nervousness. If the mother is upset, offended, or suffers from insomnia, the child is unlikely to get proper rest. How calm down mom, the sounder the baby's sleep. Not all conflicts can be avoided, not all experiences can be sublimated into positive ones, but you need to try.

One of the unpleasant moments that new parents face is poor sleep of the newborn. Sleepless nights can kill anyone short term unsettle, and for a working dad they will become a real nightmare. If a child does not sleep well at night, you need to look for the reasons and ways to solve the problem due to age period child's life.

The lack of a full night's sleep is very exhausting for both parents and the baby. In order not to get irritated, you need to understand that the baby is not doing something out of harm’s way - the problem has a specific reason that needs to be found

First half of the year

Factors affecting a child's sleep vary as they grow older (we recommend reading:). What parents perceive as disorders may turn out to be normal. From the moment of birth, the newborn remains asleep almost around the clock. The duration of wakefulness is only 4 hours with breaks. The baby’s dream cycle is also small – up to 45 minutes. Such short periods of time cause concern for the mother, although a similar biorhythm is observed in all children of one month of age.

From 2 to 3 months infant sleeps up to 14-18 hours, but still does not distinguish day from night. He wakes up at any time of the day due to hunger or discomfort, then goes back to sleep. Every week, the toddler stays more and more awake during the day until the body is completely adjusted to sleeping only at night (we recommend reading:).

It is a mistake to call all mothers reinsurers, because real reasons for concern there are. You should contact a specialist if:

1. a newborn's sleep is less than 16 hours a day (we recommend reading:);
2. one month old baby does not sleep for 5 hours or longer;
3. the baby is in an excited state, which makes it difficult for him to fall asleep;
4. sleep during the day or night lasts from 5 to 15 minutes.

These disorders may be based on serious disorders. The best thing parents can do in this case is to show the child to a neurologist, and only then think about self-correction of sleep.

Factors affecting sleep quality from birth to 3 months

Among the common causes of sleep disorders, physiological ones are more common. Next comes emotional condition toddler:

1. Waking up feeling hungry is normal for a baby. During the first month of life, a newborn listens to his body, ignoring the regime. All attempts to feed your baby by the hour may fail. If the baby wakes up and cries for a long time, it is enough to offer him something to eat.
2. Discomfort doesn't help either good sleep. Full diaper wet diaper, too hot or cold - this is a list of factors that cause a child to sleep poorly and wake up often. At the first signs of poor sleep, you need to make sure that the baby is comfortable.
3. The work of the intestines in a new mode leads to increased formation of gases and colic. The child may not sleep enough due to pain. Colic affects infants aged from 3 weeks to 3 months, and attacks sometimes last for 3 hours. The main symptom of colic: the baby cries and grunts, pressing his legs to his tummy. Prevention is to regularly lay it on the stomach, and you can get rid of the pain with dill water. Pediatricians' advice also applies to proven medicines or placing the baby with his tummy to his mother's tummy.
4. The older generation often makes comments that young parents are raising their children in greenhouse conditions. There are grandmothers who are confident that the child will sleep well even in the presence of noise or light. The famous doctor Komarovsky believes that everything should be in moderation. For a comfortable sleep, you need a calm environment and dim lighting.

During the first month, it is important for the child to feel the constant presence of his mother. If at the moment of awakening he does not find the person closest to him, he begins to cry, which causes overexcitation. Emotional outbursts lead to the baby not sleeping well. In the case when the baby often wakes up at night, it makes sense to think about “relocating” him closer to his mother.

Sleep regression at 4 months

As soon as the mother sighed (the colic was over!), the tummy was replaced by the so-called regression, or crisis, of sleep, when suddenly the baby:

• begins to sleep restlessly both day and night, often wakes up;
• difficult to “go to sleep”;
• refuses to sleep in a stroller;
• sleeps for 20 minutes.

This condition is associated with rapid growth and development of the baby, which is observed in the period from 3 to 5 months. In addition to the fact that the child becomes more and more actively accustomed to the world around him - he learns to roll over, grab a toy, etc. - his sleep also changes and becomes similar to the sleep of an adult. Now it consists of several phases - first the baby plunges into shallow sleep, and only then into deep sleep, the period of which begins just 15-20 minutes after falling asleep. The full sleep cycle remains approximately the same - 35-45 minutes.

Of course, the previously mentioned factors continue to influence the quality of sleep - hunger, lack of comfort, noise and even light from a night lamp.

Second half of life

This article talks about typical ways to solve your issues, but each case is unique! If you want to find out from me how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free!

Closer to 6 months, mothers notice that the child becomes more demanding and capricious. He may not only wake up at night, but also cry a lot and ask to be held. There is no need to run to the doctor the next morning, because the reason for this behavior lies on the surface:

1. Too many impressions during the day lead to increased excitability. The baby is actively crawling, getting acquainted with the world around him and new toys. The nervous system is not yet capable of quickly perceiving everything and putting it neatly on the shelves. Night sleep suffers from this; even getting a baby to sleep can be difficult - he tosses and turns, is capricious and will never fall asleep.
2. The second factor remains hunger, since a six-month-old baby still needs food at night. Feedings are reduced in quantity, but they cannot be completely eliminated. After satiation, the baby will sleep peacefully.
3. It is important to observe whether the baby is cutting his first teeth. They appear by 6-8 months and can affect the behavior of the toddler - in such a situation he does not want to eat, cries and has trouble falling asleep. Reduce painful sensations possible with the help of special anesthetic gels. Before use, consult a dentist or pediatrician.

Problems at 1 year

Many mothers hope that their one-year-old baby will sleep well and soundly, then find themselves disappointed. Among the problems causing such violations, experts have identified:

1. Lack of daily routine. The little one falls asleep closer to midnight and sleeps almost until lunchtime. During the day, mobility and activity are reduced. Is this a familiar picture? To avoid sleep problems, you should set up correct mode and give moderate physical activity during walks in the fresh air. As Komarovsky says, the more a child runs during the day, the better he sleeps.
2. A couple of hours before bedtime, you need to remove active games, turn down the volume on the TV and not give in to your child’s requests to put on a cartoon. Excessive emotions will lead to the fact that the child cannot fall asleep for a long time, fidgets, groans, but does not float away to the kingdom of Morpheus.
3. Not the most the best way out the situation would be to refuse daytime sleep. Some parents practice this in the hope that their child will surely fall asleep quickly in the evening. In fact, excessive fatigue and high arousal will cause problems with falling asleep and quality of sleep.

Hunger is no longer the main reason why the baby sleeps restlessly. After 6 months, the need for night feedings is small, but the toddler begins to manipulate adults (we recommend reading:). Parents need to establish a routine once and for all, without breaking it under the pressure of the child. It is enough to feed your baby well before bed so that he does not want to eat until the morning.

Difficulty sleeping at 1.5-2 years old

At 1.5 years old, the same problems with sleep may sometimes arise. If a child does not sleep well at night, it is very easy to detect “pain” points. The main factors remain unchanged:

• storm of emotions during the day;
• non-compliance with the regime;
• discomfort and hunger.

The problem is not why the toddler is capricious and does not sleep, but in ways to calm him down. A 1.5-2 year old child weighs quite a bit, so you can’t rock him in your arms for a long time.

Among sleep disorders appears new factor: intense and vivid dreams. They are a reflection of the events that happened during the day, but very vulnerable children have nightmares. The problem can be solved if you do not fill the baby’s day with rich emotions, and if there is no result, you need to contact a neurologist or child psychologist.

How older child, the higher the likelihood of night terrors. Fantasy does not allow you to fall asleep quickly: you see a monster on a chair, and something frighteningly moves outside the window. This is followed by a refusal to fall asleep without light or a request to stay in the room with the parents. Only mom and dad decide whether to fulfill the baby’s request or not, but you need to be prepared for the fact that if the answer is positive, the requirements will not go away, just like the problem of falling asleep itself.

What can you do to improve your sleep?

If your child doesn't sleep well at night, there are a few simple tips you can follow to improve the quality of sleep.

All mothers and fathers dream of an ideal baby's sleep, but toddlers who always sleep soundly and calmly are rare. Parents whose child suffers from insomnia know this very well.

Scientific research data indicate that every sixth family has a baby who has early or infancy sleep disorders are observed. Why does a one-year-old baby sleep poorly at night? How to fix the situation?

Leading world experts in the field of pediatrics assure that the sleep of a one-year-old child plays an important function on which his health and vital functions depend. Children of this age have a sleep duration of 14 hours, 12 of which are spent on nighttime sleep, and the remaining two hours are spent on a daytime siesta.

Night and day rest necessary not only for full development and the right child, and also so that the little one assimilates the information received during a busy day. The child’s brain is subjected to a colossal load, initially receiving a lot of new information, and then diligently “digesting” it.

One of the difficulties at an early age is that a one-year-old baby has trouble falling asleep at night. This is explained by the first age-related crisis period in the baby’s life, which entails worsening sleep. The crisis is due to ongoing changes in children's lives.

The child establishes a rhythm of life, develops day mode with a routine, he learns something new every day, tries to show independence.

Such emotional overload does not go unnoticed. Mothers complain that their child has had it since he was six months old. At 1 year of age, this difficulty gets worse: sleep disorders plague the toddler almost every day.

Causes of insomnia at one year of age

The most common factors causing the problem, in which a one-year-old child sleeps poorly:

• disruptions in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
• nasal congestion caused by allergic reaction or the onset of acute respiratory infections;
• disturbed microclimate of the children's bedroom;
• absent or disturbed, the child has erroneous associations associated with sleep;
• infant fatigue (physical, emotional);
• extraneous sounds and noise;
• diaper not changed on time;
• disrupted diet, which makes the child want to eat or drink at night;
• fears, nightmares, terrible dreams;
• teething;
• emergence primary symptoms eye diseases(for example, hypermetropia);
• ailments associated with neurology;
• deterioration of health.

These are the main factors due to which the baby’s night rest suffers. For example, colic in the intestines goes away by 3 months, but even at one year old this phenomenon periodically worries the child. This has a connection with the fact that the little one tries new food.

Some foods cause flatulence, are not fully digested, and can cause allergic manifestations and intestinal disorders. Such symptoms pass quite quickly and cannot permanently disturb sleep.

When your baby has nasal congestion, it is normal for him to rest all night, most likely he will not be able to. The fact is that the baby’s breathing is difficult; insufficient oxygen reaches the brain. Hypoxia has a negative effect on nervous system the little one, and therefore on the quality of his night's rest.

It is also difficult for a child to fall asleep soundly and fully if the room is hot or cold, stuffy or uncomfortable. Then the child begins to twist, squirm, arch, twitch his arms and legs, and finds it difficult to fall asleep.

If the baby overheats (when he is dressed in excessively warm clothes or is tightly wrapped), sleep will be restless. At the same time, the baby is constantly spinning, tossing and turning, and will try to throw the blanket on the floor.

The feeling of thirst also prevents the toddler from resting at night. Bright lighting, loud sounds of cars passing near the house with loud music, fireworks are also among the causes of sleep disorders in an infant.

The baby should be fed fully throughout the day. Malnutrition can lead to waking up in the night because the baby wants to eat.

At night, the toddler does not rest well and often wakes up if he has an improperly organized daytime routine. Children who are inactive during the day are practically not tired, which is why their night sleep is not good enough and they are constantly waking up. But this does not mean that you can cancel your child’s sleep during the day or start exhausting him with games until he feels tired.

Excessive fatigue also negatively affects the quality of sleep, as does lack of intensity during the day. Some people think that if they miss a day's rest, the baby will get tired and sleep all night, which is called “without hind legs.” But this is a mistaken opinion. The fact is that an overexcited state interferes with sleep. It doesn't let you fall asleep for a long time.

In addition, sleep becomes superficial. And the intensity of movements and activity can lead to the fact that the fidget will flinch in its sleep, twitch its legs and arms, constantly waking itself up.

Missed time for sleep, when the baby shows all the symptoms of fatigue while waiting for “regular time”, and the parents do not notice them, is fraught with overload of the central nervous system. This causes the toddler's whims until midnight.

Insomnia occurs in cases where the baby has learned to fall asleep with his mother, and suddenly they are going to “separate” him from her. He will sleep poorly, wake up regularly, and lose his sense of security.

At the age of one year, children's teething, or rather their teething, can cause many problems, both during the day and at night. Some children go through this period quite easily. They dont have profuse salivation, absent severe itching in the gums. However, not everyone has such luck. Some little ones suffer from so much strong discharge the saliva that does not have time to swallow it chokes on it.

In addition, the itching sensation is very unpleasant, so much so that the little ones begin to twist their heads while sleeping, trying to scratch their gums on the bed dress. This is not a constant manifestation; the itching may intensify and then subside. But when teeth are actively cutting through, babies have trouble falling asleep, waking up quite often during the night.

The baby's nighttime rest may be disrupted due to feeling unwell caused by ear pain, viral disease like measles, chickenpox, rubella, intestinal infection accompanied by diarrhea and nausea.

Malaise is an understandable reason why the baby has trouble sleeping. He will let parents know about the problem not only by obvious symptoms of the disease, but also by his behavior in his sleep. The baby may cry, yell, act up, scream or moan.

Poor sleep in a 1-year-old child is sometimes triggered by incipient vision problems, in particular farsightedness. The first symptoms of hypermetropia tend to manifest themselves in the early childhood, however, adults do not perceive them as precursors of eye disease.

The symptoms are that the little one is capricious, sleeps poorly in the dark, and his eyes get tired quickly.

Severe and is observed in children suffering from increased intracranial pressure. It reminds you of itself with attacks of headache against the backdrop of changed weather conditions outside the window. Weather-dependent children tend to feel not only changes in atmospheric pressure, but also changes associated with solar activity.

Neuroses in one-year-old children also interfere with a quality night's rest. He is restless, accompanied by crying and frequent awakenings. Such babies are often tormented by unpleasant dreams and have difficulty falling asleep.

What should parents do?

Problems with night rest in a one-year-old baby are not normal. The baby should not suffer from insomnia and wake up repeatedly for no apparent reason. Parents should take care to comply following conditions providing quality sleep to their child:

1. Comfortable night rest. The baby should not be stuffy or hot. He should not be overly wrapped up, dressed in too warm clothes and wrapped in a blanket. In addition, small children do not like it when anything hinders their movements.
2. Ventilate the nursery every evening. The child needs fresh and humidified air for a normal night's rest. This measure is advice to the parents of Dr. Komarovsky. Stuffiness prevents healthy sleep, because of it, babies often wake up and have difficulty falling asleep.
3. Timely diaper change. Special attention is given to its quality. It is unacceptable for it to leak and cause irritation to tender skin babies, delivered discomfort. The material from which the pajamas and bedding are made is no less important. It is not recommended that it be synthetic. It is better to give preference to natural, breathable fabrics.
4. Timely treatment of illnesses. If it is suspected that the sleep problem is caused by an illness, the baby is immediately shown to a pediatrician to find out the causes and receive adequate therapy. You cannot self-medicate.
5. Elimination of psychological problems. We are talking, first of all, about children's fears that deprive the baby normal rest in the dark. The best solution to this unpleasant phenomenon– more communication with mom and dad in the evening, before going to bed. Tactile contact is no less important. For a one-year-old child need a sense of constant presence loved one, dim lighting, silence. Complete darkness should be avoided, especially if the baby is tormented by fears associated with night rest.
6. Avoiding excessive excitability - a condition in which the child becomes nervous. Parents tend to believe that a twelve-month-old baby is not yet capable of experiencing strong emotions, but this is not the case. Excessive emotionality is caused by active games that last for a long time, increased physical activity during daylight hours. This causes problems falling asleep in the evening. The child refuses to go to bed, his night rest is restless and is accompanied by frequent awakenings, during which he tries to get up on his feet. To avoid such problems, mom and dad are recommended to limit the toddler’s physical activity in the afternoon, giving preference to quiet time (reading fairy tales, drawing).
7. Creating a sleep ritual and strictly following it every evening. This will help subconsciously set your baby up for a night's rest.
8. On the eve of putting the baby to sleep, it is recommended to give him a little milk to drink, preferably warm. The feeling of fullness will make it easier for him to fall asleep.
9. Nightly bathing with added water herbal decoctions or essential oils. Valerian and lavender work especially well. They will calm the baby and help him relax, which will improve the quality of his night's rest.

Folk remedies will help eliminate sleep disturbances in a child:

• chamomile infusion;
• infusion of valerian root;
• dill juice mixed with honey and diluted warm water. This healing liquid helps you fall asleep easily.

Restrictions

With a baby who is 1 year old, parents should behave differently than with a baby. Some adjustments are required regarding the actions of mom and dad, taking into account the age characteristics of their child.

Solving the problem of sleep disorders in a one-year-old baby does not allow their use, since they are fraught with even greater problems in the future. According to experts, parents should not do the following:

1. Rock and lull the baby. This is permissible for an infant under one year of age.
2. Feed your baby during night awakenings. It is harmful for a baby at this age to eat at night, as it negatively affects the digestion process. It is difficult for a sleeping baby's body to cope with any food, unless we are talking about mother's milk.
3. Scold the little one, make fun of him. This is fraught with the development of a child psychological problems. He is not yet always able to understand what is to blame.
4. Send the baby to sleep in another room, where he will remain alone until the morning. At this age, a child’s biggest fear is the absence of parents nearby.
5. Place the baby in the parent's bed at night. A child who is already one year old needs to have his own sleeping place. His crib should still be in his parents' room, but he should already sleep alone. Moving a toddler to a nursery is recommended at the age of two (at the earliest - at one and a half years old).

Thanks to parents' compliance with simple measures aimed at improving the quality of their child's night's rest, the child will be able to successfully cope with the crisis of the first year of life and eliminate its negative manifestations in the form of sleep disturbances.

The “golden” baby sleep is the dream of every parent. After all, when a baby sleeps a lot and deeply, he grows and develops quickly, and at the same time gets little sick. Moreover, a child who sleeps soundly at night is the key to the mother’s mental balance, and therefore the well-being of the whole family. How should you behave with your child during the day so that he sleeps well at night?

Sound children's sleep is the key to happy parenting. After all, while the baby sleeps sweetly and deeply in his crib, his mother and father can enjoy not only good rest, but also each other...

What to do during the day if the child does not sleep well at night?

How your baby sleeps at night directly depends on how he spent his day. Under some circumstances, the same child sleeps “without hind legs” - soundly, for a long time, without worrying and without waking up for night feeding. And in another situation, he falls asleep with difficulty and “concerts”, tosses and turns a lot, grunts and moans, wakes up in the middle of the night and screams “demands his mother”... Sometimes the reason for this is the baby’s well-being: he may not sleep well due to abdominal pain , or from hunger. It is not uncommon for babies to sleep poorly on days when they have. But if the baby is healthy and well-fed, he has no problems with his stool, and there is no suspicion of a new tooth, then the reason for his bad and restless sleep Most likely it lies in the fact that he did not spend the day actively enough.

In order for the baby to sleep soundly at night, he needs to be “rolled” during the day - he must be physically tired by the evening and spend energy. You can do this in two ways:

• The baby can be loaded with physical activity
• or “saturate” with emotional stress

Physical activity day and evening, immediately before and - this is an almost one hundred percent guarantee of sound sleep. If the baby is already crawling, sitting down or even walking, crawl, sit down and walk with him, make him move. If the baby is still very tiny and his range motor activity not big - use as physical activity massage, swimming (bathing in a large bathtub) and gymnastics.

Emotional stress“work” individually – active communication with other relatives or children, any, etc. can tire the baby by providing him deep sleep until the morning, and exactly the opposite - to go wild with it, giving you sleepless night, infant whims and crying. It often happens that a child does not sleep well at night just after an overly emotional day. Therefore, it makes sense to experiment with loads of this kind - one or two times is more than enough for you to make a verdict: emotional overexcitation excites and tones your child, or, on the contrary, tires and “puts him to sleep.”

If your child has trouble sleeping at night, consider creating a ritual of nightly walks. Often babies fall asleep so soundly in the fresh air that they are then able to sleep soundly for most of the night...

Is your little child having trouble sleeping? Think about yourself!

Many parents mistakenly believe that one of the first reasons why a child does not sleep well (especially at night) is that the time for rocking him is chosen incorrectly. Actually this is not true. There is no strictly defined time for rocking children to sleep and preparing them for bed - while the baby does not yet attend any institutions (kindergarten, school, etc.), his regime, including the time of falling asleep and waking up, is subordinated exclusively to the interests of the family .

If it is convenient for you for your baby to fall asleep at midnight and wake up at nine or ten in the morning, then put him to bed at midnight. And if you personally feel more comfortable for the whole family to go to bed at 22:00 and get up at 6-7 in the morning - exactly at 22:00.

It is clear that while the baby is still very tiny (which means he needs night feeding, and), whatever one may say, at night he will have to jump up to the crib, and more than once. However, if you know, then these forced night vigils will not be a big problem for you. But after 4-5 months, it is absolutely possible to achieve a situation in which the baby will sleep soundly all night, falling asleep exactly when it is convenient for the whole family.

What to do if your child doesn’t sleep well at night: rules for sound children’s sleep

So, in order for a child to sleep soundly at night, he needs to provide the following conditions:

• 1 The second half of the day and evening should be the most dynamic physical activity(emotional is in question, but physical is beyond any doubt).
• 2 Two to three hours before bedtime, organize a walk in the fresh air.
• 3 An hour and a half before bedtime - a cool bath (30-40 minutes).
• 4 Half an hour before bedtime - a hearty “dinner”.
• 5 The climate in the nursery should be cool and humid: temperature 18-19 °C, humidity about 60-70%.

If a child not only sleeps poorly at night, but also has difficulty falling asleep, come up with and reinforce a kind of ritual bedtime: sing him the same lullaby every time, or play the same quiet, smooth melody when rocking him to sleep; place the same toy in his field of vision (but you need to “use” it only for the time of motion sickness, and the baby should not see it during periods of daytime wakefulness). Gradually the baby will get used to it, and as soon as you start singing or show him his night bear, the baby will instantly begin to “switch off”...

Does a child need a pillow to sleep?

It is quite difficult for adults to accept “on faith” the statement that children under 1.5-2 years old do not need any pillows in principle. However, you will have to! The fact is that, proportionally, children under the age of about 2 years are very different from older people - they have a large head, a rather short neck and narrow shoulders. Adults use a pillow to compensate for the distance between the surface of the bed and the head, so that the neck does not bend.

But babies do not have such a need - if you lay the baby on its side, you will see that its head lies on the surface of the bed, but the neck remains straight (because the head is still large and the shoulders are short). However, if it seems to you that your child does not sleep well at night precisely because he is simply uncomfortable, experiment with a pillow, for which a diaper folded several times will be perfect at first.

If it seems to you that it is no longer very comfortable for an older baby to sleep without a pillow, arrange for him a flat, soft hypoallergenic pillow. But its height should be minimal!

If your child doesn't sleep well, should you take him into your bed?

Currently, many progressive pediatricians argue that a mother and her child should sleep together - both physiologically and psychologically this is justified and useful. However, the majority of, let’s say, “classical” pediatric doctors believe that all the arguments put forward in favor do not stand up to criticism. For example:

Sleeping together between mother and baby preserves and supports breastfeeding. Many mothers justify co-sleeping by saying that the baby needs to be breastfed on demand. And when the baby sleeps “next door”, it is much more convenient to do this than when he is in his crib, or even in his room. However, it is quite possible to organize breastfeeding in such a way that you only have to get up to feed once a night, and 4-6 months after the baby is born, you will be able to enjoy a full night’s sleep. And even if you are an ardent fan of on-demand feeding, then even in this case there is a chance that you won’t have to “drag” the baby into the parent’s bed: it’s enough to buy an additional crib. The baby will be nearby, but still in his own crib!

Co-sleeping psychologically protects the baby. Parents often explain the presence of children in their bed by saying that in this way the children receive psychological protection, they do not suffer from nightmares and sleep more soundly. However, doctors have confirmed that the so-called childhood night terror syndrome “affects” many times more often precisely those children who from birth slept together with their mother (with parents), and at the age of 1.5-2-3 years were “moved” to a separate crib. As a rule, according to psychologists, children who initially slept separately from their parents do not experience nightmares or night terrors at all.

During co-sleeping, there are more opportunities to control the condition of the newborn baby. It's right. As well as the fact that during co-sleeping there are also great risks of disrupting the fragile health of the newborn - crushing him, as well as creating a hot, stuffy microclimate and oxygen deficiency (which can cause). In general, when it comes specifically to newborns and infants, doctors consider the following to be the ideal option for their night sleep: mom and dad sleep on the marital bed, and the child either in an additional crib or in a special co-slipper (a child's sleeping place like "nest") Thus, adults and children sleep very close together, but at the same time each has their own living space and air. But after six months, the baby can be safely “resettled” into a separate crib, and even into a separate room.

On the left is an example of how it is extremely undesirable to sleep with a baby. The risks are too great: you can crush the child in his sleep, he may become too hot or stuffy... On the left is an example of how mother and child can stay close to each other, but without risking the health of the baby and the well-being of his parents.

Most pediatricians, whose opinions have earned a certain authority among parents, are inclined to believe that the child should sleep separately, without violating the “integrity” of the parent’s bed. Each family member should have their own living space - first it is formed at the level of a sleeping place, and then, over time, it grows into a way of life in which an adult child and then an adult respect the needs and desires of other people.

What position is best for a child to sleep in?

After a year, the baby’s position during sleep (from the point of view of parental control) has very little meaning - whatever is more convenient and comfortable for the child, so in the end he will turn. But up to a year - posture is of great importance!

The root cause of this terrible condition is respiratory arrest. But what causes it is still unknown. However, doctors have noticed that children in the first year of life who sleep on their stomachs die much more often. This is why doctors advise placing babies on their backs (the head is turned to the side so that the baby does not choke) or on their side.

On the left is an example of how not to put your baby in a crib. On the right is the opposite, an example of how a baby should lie while sleeping.

If you are sure that your child sleeps poorly on his back or side, but sleeps well when lying on his stomach, then sit vigilantly next to your baby and make sure that sudden regurgitation or choking does not cause the greatest tragedy in the family.

It does not matter fundamentally - your baby is only a couple of months old, one year old or three. To sleep soundly at night, at any age, we need approximately the same thing: to be active and productive during the day, to be healthy, and also... to be surrounded by happy loved ones. You can give all this to your child from the very first day of his birth!