by Arianna Larson

Created on: January 12, 2010

Whether you have become a parent for the first time or you have been around this path before, one thing is certain; bringing a new baby home translates in many sleepless nights. 

Sleep is essential for the wellbeing of a person. It promotes the health and normal functioning of the body and is necessary for survival. Sleeping properly, will benefits the mood, learning, memory and concentration, plus helps to repair the nervous and immune systems. In addition, sleep is necessary for the body’s development; grow hormones for example, are released during sleep. 

How many hours a person needs to sleep it depends on the age group, with some little variances depending on the individual. In general terms, and adult should sleep about 7 to 8 hours in a twenty-four hour period, this can also be divided in nighttime sleep and a daytime nap.  Older adults sleep as much but they tend to sleep for shorter periods of time, taking naps through the day. Newborns usually sleep about 14 to 16 hours in multiple periods through the day and night; is recommended not to let a newborn to go without a feeding for more than 3 or 4 hours. For infants of about 5 or 6 months of age, sleeping corresponds to an overnight time of about 10 to 12 hours plus one or two 1 to 2 hours nap. Children from 3 to 6 years old usually sleep for about 10 to 12 hours, while older children sleep about 9 to 10 hours. In teenagers the normal amount of sleep needed is about 9 hours. 

With all that being said, is no wonder that a new mom is very tired, frustrated and stressed at the fact that her beautiful new baby is turning into a sleepless nightmare. The best thing that any parent can do is to develop a nighttime routine that will help their child to sleep better; this will reduce any unnecessary extra stress and will help the parents to feel closer to the baby.

First of all, please bear in mind that babies and infants are a little bit different; a routine that works great for a newborn might not necessarily work for an infant. In addition a routine that worked for your first kid is not guaranteed to work with the next one.

Something simple to begin with; like getting clean and a new diaper, pj’s and some mommy or daddy time in the rocker with a soft song or story, keeping the light dimmed and the noise down will do wonders.

Also, trying to help your child to know the difference between day and night will help with the routine.  To do so, keep the nighttime sleep dark

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