Newborn babies’ sleep time is always a matter of concern for many parents, especially first-time mothers. In the early stages of life, babies’ sleep is done instinctively, not yet stable according to biological clocks, so they often cry and refuse to sleep. So how much sleep do newborns need? How to help your baby get a full night’s sleep? Let’s find out with Autoru through the following article!
1. The importance of sleep for infants and young children
Scientific studies have shown that the number of brain cells in a newborn baby in the first month has developed to 80% compared to a 3-month-old baby. Therefore, sleep is one of the factors that promote brain development in infants and young children. Sleep also plays an important role in the development of muscles and bones in children when growth hormones are produced during sleep.
Sleep plays an important role in children’s brain development.
The development of the baby’s brain, memory, thinking and physical ability are all linked to quality sleep. If insomnia and fussiness appear in the first years of life, the baby’s development journey is at risk of encountering negative manifestations such as slow cognition, poor thinking and behavioral control, and can lead to obesity due to metabolic disorders.
The sleep time of newborns also plays an important role in the daily life of mothers and the whole family. Babies crying at night, tossing and turning, and not sleeping well are also reasons that make mothers tired, stressed, and worse, postpartum depression.
2. Is it okay for a newborn to sleep little?
Children who do not sleep deeply, babies who sleep little, babies who have trouble sleeping, are often irritable and cry at night are all conditions that mothers and families need to pay attention to. Children who do not sleep well are also the cause of many health problems such as poor immune system function, affecting the respiratory system and the brain and physical development of the child. In some cases, children who are sleep deprived are also at risk of reduced concentration, hyperactivity disorder or even affecting the cardiovascular system, blood pressure, etc.
Little or insufficient sleep can make babies cry at night.
3. Is it okay for newborns to sleep a lot?
It is a normal physiological activity for newborns to sleep a lot at this stage. However, mothers should also pay attention to the reasonable distribution of their newborn’s sleep time. If the baby sleeps too much, the baby may skip feedings during the day, leading to slow growth and malnutrition. Therefore, mothers should wake the baby up on time to feed the baby!
According to some studies, the appropriate sleep time for newborns is 16-18 hours/day, divided into many naps lasting about 1-2 hours. When they reach 4 weeks old, the baby’s sleep time will decrease to about 14 hours/day. Unlike sleeping less, the condition of sleeping a lot in newborns is rarely noticed by parents.
However, for your baby to develop healthily, parents need to try to build scientific sleeping habits for their baby and take your baby to see a doctor immediately when there are unusual signs in your baby’s sleep!
The average sleep time of a newborn is about 16 – 18 hours/day.
4. Reasonable sleep time for infants and young children at each stage
In the early stages of life, a newborn’s sleep time often changes depending on each stage of development as follows:
4.1 Newborns and infants under 2 months of age
The average sleep time of a baby at this stage is 18 hours/day for both day and night. Each day the baby will sleep many times and each sleep is usually quite short, so the baby often wakes up in the middle of the night to feed.
This can affect the mother’s mental health because she has to wake up frequently to comfort or feed the baby. However, the mother needs to try in the early stages of the baby’s life because in the first 2 weeks, the baby needs to be ensured to be provided with enough nutrients and breastfed on time.
4.2 Children from 3 – 5 months old
At this stage, the baby can distinguish between night and day. Babies from 3 to 5 months old can interact with their parents more and their average sleep time at this stage is 14 to 16 hours. At night, the baby may wake up about 1 to 2 times but this is normal and parents do not need to worry too much. Some babies can even sleep straight for 6 hours without waking up in the middle of the night.
To practice the habit of sleeping on your own and ensure quality sleep for your baby, mothers should let their baby sleep in a crib or bassinet from the first years of life.
Sleep time table suitable for each age stage
4.3 Children from 6 – 8 months old
Unlike the sleep time of newborns , babies from 6 to 8 months old can sleep continuously for 8 hours/night without waking up, and during the day they will take short naps of 3 to 4 hours. Therefore, the average sleep time of babies at this stage will be about 14 hours and 2 to 3 short naps during the day.
The stage when the baby is 6 – 8 months old is also the time when mothers can return to work and normal life. At this time, the baby will be sensitive and often cry because he is away from his mother, but mothers should not worry too much because the baby will soon adapt.
4.4 Children from 9 – 12 months old
The period from 9 to 12 months of age is the stage when children can interact with the surrounding environment, have more contact with things and events that happen every day, so falling asleep will be more difficult than in the previous stages. This is also considered a stage of outstanding development for children when they have to practice crawling to standing, babbling and also starting to grow their first baby teeth.
Therefore, the baby’s sleep also begins to be more independent when it can sleep by itself without much support from the mother. The baby’s nighttime sleep can last from 9-12 hours continuously and the baby will sleep less during the day.
5. Summary table of appropriate sleep time for infants and young children
| Age | Sleep time reasonable | Detailed information about sleep for babies and young children |
| 0 – 1 month old | 18 hours/day | Children sleep many short naps, each lasting about 1-2 hours. |
| 2 – 4 months old | 16 hours/day | Sleep lasts from 4 – 6 hours/sleep and usually takes place in the evening. |
| 4 – 12 months old | 12 – 15 hours/day | Parents need to establish a scientific and healthy sleeping habit for their baby because at this time, the baby has begun to be exposed to the surrounding environment more. |
Above is a summary table of the time for infants and young children according to the recommendations of AASM (American Academy of Sleep Medicine). A survey has shown that 43% of 6-month-old babies sleep at night for up to 8 hours and 62% for 6 hours. As children begin to develop and grow, their bodies will adjust their sleep time accordingly and spend more time sleeping at night than during the day.
6. What should be done to ensure good sleep for infants and young children?
What is the appropriate sleep time for infants and young children? What should be done to help your baby have a full night’s sleep? Building a healthy sleep habit for your baby and getting your baby to sleep on time is the answer to the above problems. So what should parents do to help their baby sleep better and on time?
- Train your baby to have some habits before going to bed such as bathing and cleaning, drinking milk… These habits are signs for your baby that bedtime is coming.
- Balance your baby’s sleep time appropriately, limit daytime sleep so your baby can sleep more at night.
- Expose your baby to more natural light during the day to help him or her learn the difference between night and day. At the same time, you should also talk to your baby more often so that he or she can feel the quietness of the night.
- Minimize noise while your baby sleeps, create a comfortable sleeping space for your baby, and arrange a sleeping area with enough space for your baby to move.
- To train your baby to be independent, mothers should train their babies to sleep alone from an early age so that they do not feel dependent on their mother. You should let your baby sleep in a crib or bassinet so that your baby has the most comfortable sleeping space.
Sleeping in a crib creates an independent sleeping habit and helps your baby fall asleep more easily.
Whether your baby sleeps more or less than usual, parents need to pay attention to their baby’s sleep. If your baby shows signs of sleep disorders and is accompanied by symptoms such as fever and crying, parents should take the baby to the hospital or medical facility for timely examination.
Sleeping space is also an important factor to help your baby have a good and complete sleep, then the crib or playpen is the first choice of many Vietnamese parents. If parents are looking for a suitable sleeping space for their children, please refer to some of Autoru’s crib and playpen models.
Sleeping time for newborns and young children is always a difficult problem for many mothers. However, the first months of life are the premise for the healthy physical and mental development of the baby later. Therefore, mothers need to pay more attention to their baby’s sleep and build a regular sleeping habit for the baby. Let’s take care of your baby’s health – mother sleeps well with Autoru!
