Colin Snow
Newborns typically sleep for 16-18 hours a day, but in very short stretches as they need to feed frequently. During the first few weeks of life, newborns sleep for two to three hours, wake up to feed for an hour, and then go back to sleep. This can be challenging for parents, but it's important to remember that this is only temporary. As babies grow and develop, they start to establish their own patterns and preferences, and the rhythm and routine of the household contribute to these preferences. Here are some tips to help your newborn sleep for longer stretches.
Characteristics of Stretching Newborn Sleep
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| White Noise | Most newborns sleep better with loud white noise, which helps to recreate the soothing sounds of the womb. |
| Darkness | As-dark-as-possible darkness helps newborns sleep. |
| Self-soothing | Teaching your baby to self-soothe can help them sleep longer. |
| Night Weaning | Prioritise night weaning to help your baby sleep better. |
| Wake Windows | Pay attention to the ideal wake times for your newborn's age, to know when the optimal time for sleep is. |
| Co-regulation | Mirror a calm emotional state with deep, slow breathing and gentle swaying from side to side while you are co-regulating with your baby during sleep. |
| Stimulation | Engage and stimulate your newborn during the day with different activities to help them sleep soundly at night. |
| Feeding | Ensure your newborn has fed enough during the day, as it can impact their ability to sleep longer at night. |
| Tummy Time | Start tummy time early to help your baby get some physical activity and tire them out for better sleep. |
| Swaddling | Implement the use of swaddling for naps and bedtime. |
| Room Temperature | Make sure your baby's room is not too hot or too cold. |
| Safe Sleep Environment | The safest way for a baby to sleep is on their back, on a firm surface, by themselves, with nothing else in the crib or bassinet. |
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What You'll Learn
Encourage self-soothing
Encouraging self-soothing in newborns is an important step towards helping them sleep for longer stretches at night. Here are some tips to achieve this:
Firstly, understand your newborn's wake windows, which is the amount of time they can stay awake without becoming overtired. This will vary depending on their age and the time of day. For instance, newborns might only be able to stay awake for 30-60 minutes, while older babies can stay awake for up to 90 minutes. During their wake windows, engage and stimulate them with activities like tummy time, reading, or other fun and interactive pursuits. This will help tire them out and make them more likely to sleep.
Another important aspect of encouraging self-soothing is establishing a calm and regulated environment. This can be achieved through co-regulation, where you mirror a calm emotional state with deep, slow breathing and gentle swaying from side to side. This technique helps newborns sync their heart rates with yours and creates a sense of calm that can aid in self-soothing and sleep.
Additionally, creating a soothing sleep environment can also help. This includes making the room as dark as possible and using loud white noise to recreate the soothing sounds of the womb. You can also try swaddling your newborn, which has been shown to aid in sleep, especially during the summer months when a thin muslin swaddle can be used.
It's important to remember that newborns need to eat frequently and may not be ready for a strict schedule. However, you can start teaching them the difference between day and night by keeping nighttime calm and quiet and making daytime more interactive. This will help them understand when it's time to be alert and when it's time to relax and sleep.
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Maintain consistent wake windows
Maintaining consistent wake windows is key to helping your newborn sleep for longer stretches. Wake windows refer to the amount of time your newborn can stay awake without becoming overtired. The ideal wake window varies depending on your baby's age and the time of day. Newborns can typically stay awake for 30 to 60 minutes, with this window stretching to 90 minutes as they get older.
To make the most of these wake windows, engage in activities that stimulate and tire your baby, such as tummy time. Start with 3-5 minutes a few times a day, gradually increasing the duration. Reading books with simple images and contrasting colours is another great way to engage your newborn during their wake time.
Feeding your baby during their wake windows is also important. Ensure they feed as much as possible during the day, offering them multiple opportunities to eat before putting them down for a nap. Burp your baby and then offer them more food after a few minutes, as air bubbles can interfere with their sense of fullness.
It's crucial to remain calm and mindful during these wake windows. Babies sense our emotions, so mirroring a calm emotional state with deep, slow breathing and gentle swaying will help regulate your baby's emotions and heart rate. This technique, known as co-regulation, is challenging but highly effective in helping your newborn sleep better.
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Create a calm environment
Creating a calm environment is essential to helping your newborn sleep longer stretches. Here are some tips to achieve this:
Firstly, make the baby's room as dark as possible. Darkness is conducive to sleep as it mimics the womb environment, where it is always dark. Additionally, ensure the room is not too hot or cold; a comfortable temperature will help your baby sleep better. If it's chilly, you can use a sleep sack to keep your baby warm.
It is also important to minimise external noise, as babies can be easily overstimulated by sounds. You can use a white noise machine to drown out background noise and provide soothing, sleep-inducing sounds. Alternatively, loud white noise from a fan or air conditioner can also be effective in creating a consistent, ambient noise that lulls your baby to sleep.
Engaging your baby in various activities during the day will help stimulate and tire them out, leading to better sleep at night. Tummy time, for instance, can provide your baby with physical activity and stimulation. Start with short durations of 3-5 minutes a few times a day, gradually increasing the time as your baby gets accustomed to it. Reading books with simple images and contrasting shapes and colours can also be a fun and engaging activity for newborns.
Swaddling your baby can provide comfort and security, aiding in longer stretches of sleep. However, ensure the room is cool enough, as a swaddled baby in a warm room may become too hot. The swaddle should be thin and breathable, and it is crucial to use the correct swaddling technique to ensure your baby's comfort and safety.
Lastly, it is important to establish a calm emotional state for yourself, as babies sense and sync their heart rates with their caregiver's emotions during moments of co-regulation. Practising deep breathing and gentle swaying from side to side can help you mirror a calm state, which will, in turn, help your baby relax and prepare for sleep.
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Stimulate during the day
To help your newborn sleep for longer stretches at night, it is important to engage and stimulate them during the day. Here are some tips to help you do that:
Reading
Even in the first week after birth, you can start reading to your newborn. Choose books with large, simple images with contrasting shapes and colours. You can also read them passages from your favourite books or even jokes from the internet!
Tummy time
Tummy time can be started within the first few weeks after birth, once the umbilical cord has fallen off. Start with 3-5 minutes a few times a day, and gradually increase the duration. This helps your baby get some physical activity and stimulation, which will tire them out and improve their sleep at night.
Daytime activities
Make daytime more interactive and stimulating for your baby. This can include feeding, diapering, and short activities. You can also try to implement the use of the swaddle for naps and bedtime. The swaddle should be a thin muslin cloth during hot days, and a diaper during colder days.
Feeding
Ensure your baby is feeding enough during the day. Offer them several opportunities to feed before putting them down for a nap. Burp your baby and then offer them more food a few minutes later, as an air bubble may have interfered with their sense of fullness.
Wake windows
Maintain consistent wake windows each day. This means not keeping your baby up for too long or too little during the day. The ideal wake time depends on the age of your newborn and the time of day. Younger newborns can stay comfortably awake for 30-60 minutes, while older newborns can stay awake for up to 90 minutes.
Co-regulation
During the day, mirror a calm emotional state with deep, slow breathing, and gentle swaying from side to side. This will help regulate your baby's emotions and heart rate, which will aid in their sleep at night.
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Prioritise daytime feeding
Prioritising daytime feeding is an important step in helping your newborn sleep for longer stretches at night. Newborns need to eat frequently, often every few hours, and are not developmentally ready to sleep for longer stretches. They also have day/night confusion, as they are more likely to be lulled to sleep during the day when the parent is moving around, whereas at night when all is calm and still, they are more awake.
To help them understand the difference between day and night, you can encourage longer sleep once they are above their birth weight. In the first few weeks, newborns typically sleep for two to three hours, then wake up to feed for an hour, and then go back to sleep. You can wake them up a bit after two hours of sleep by exposing them to cooler air, taking them outside, or putting them in a baby tub with lukewarm water. This will help establish a cycle where they wake up, eat, and stay awake for their wake time, and then go back to sleep.
During the day, ensure that each feeding session is as full and complete as possible. Offer your baby several opportunities for more food before putting them down for their next nap. Burp the baby and then offer more food a few minutes later, as an air bubble can interfere with their sense of fullness and make them feel hungry again.
It is also important to keep consistent wake windows each day, which is the amount of time your newborn can stay awake without getting overtired. For newborns, this is usually 30-60 minutes, and as they get older, this can stretch to 90 minutes. Keeping consistent wake windows will help your child sleep better at night. You can also engage and stimulate your baby with different activities during the day, such as reading a book, to help them sleep soundly and fully during the night.
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Frequently asked questions
Newborns sleep in very short stretches because they need to eat frequently. However, there are a few things you can try to get them to sleep longer:
- Ensure they are fed enough during the day.
- Engage and stimulate them with different activities during the day.
- Establish a cycle where your baby wakes up and eats immediately, then stays awake for their wake window before going back to sleep.
- Make nighttime calm and quiet and daytime more interactive.
- Try to keep your baby's room as dark as possible.
- Use white noise to recreate the soothing sounds of the womb.
- Try to keep your baby's room cool.
- Swaddle your baby.
- Encourage self-soothing by putting them back down as soon as they are finished feeding.
Wake windows are the amount of time your newborn can stay awake without becoming overtired. The younger the baby, the less time they can stay awake, ranging from 30-60 minutes for newborns, and increasing to 90 minutes as they get older.
Co-regulation is the process of regulatory support between a caregiver and a child. Babies sense their caregiver's emotions, so it is important to mirror calmness and practice deep breathing. Infants sync their heart rates to their caregiver's during moments of co-regulation.
The safest way for a baby to sleep is on their back, on a firm surface, by themselves, with nothing else in the crib or bassinet such as blankets, pillows, or stuffed animals. Keep the crib or bassinet away from wires and windows.
It is important to remember that newborns are not developmentally ready to sleep longer stretches at night. However, between 2-4 months, most babies start to stay awake longer during the day and sleep for longer stretches at night. By 6 months, about two-thirds of babies will sleep through the night.
