A new study suggests that babies should be able to sleep through the night from about three months old. From about five months, parents should be able to expect a longer period of sleep.
Previous studies show that a sleep pattern develops before a real feeding pattern and this is usually at about 60 days (two months) of life.
Jacqueline M. T. Henderson, PhDa, Karyn G. France, PhDb, Joseph L. Owens, PhDa, and Neville M. Blampied, MSc of the Department of Psychology and Health Sciences Centre, University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand set the objective of investigating the consolidation of infants' self-regulated night sleep over the first year.
The idea was to determine when infants first sleep through the night from 24:00 to 05:00 hours, or for 8 hours, or between 22:00 and 06:00 hours. These times were chosen as the times that most parents would love to have babies sleep through without waking.
Parents of 75 typically developing infants completed sleep diaries for 6 days each month for 12 months. The accuracy of the parent reports were assessed by using videosomnography. (time lapse video of the sleeping child)
The researchers found that the most rapid increase in uninterrupted sleep occurred between one and four months, during which the babies gradually stretched their sustained snooze time by nearly three hours.
At five months of age, 50% of infants were sleeping from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Babies reached the easier milestones earlier. Half of the babies slept from midnight to 5 a.m. by three months of age and 8 hours a night by four months, according to the October 25th online report in Pediatrics.
By 12 months, 85% of the babies met these two criteria -- but one of every four still wasn't sleeping from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
This study found that the most rapid consolidation in infant sleep regulation occurs in the first 4 months. Most infants are sleeping through the night at 2 and 3 months, regardless of the criterion used.
The most developmentally and socially valid criterion for sleeping through is from 22:00 to 0:600 hours.
At 5 months, more than half of the infants were sleeping concurrently with their parents.
Many infants have difficulties in consolidating their sleep and frequently wake during the night, which is a source of distress for the family. Understanding normal maturation may help in developing interventions and early prevention tools.
Sleep-promoting routines should include creating a sleep environment that is quiet, dark and at an appropriate temperature; maintaining consistent routines and sleep schedules; encouraging a baby to fall asleep and resume sleep in their cribs with little help; and gradually increasing intervals between night feedings.
If you would like help to improve your child's sleep Contact Dream-Angus.com
Previous studies show that a sleep pattern develops before a real feeding pattern and this is usually at about 60 days (two months) of life.
Jacqueline M. T. Henderson, PhDa, Karyn G. France, PhDb, Joseph L. Owens, PhDa, and Neville M. Blampied, MSc of the Department of Psychology and Health Sciences Centre, University of Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand set the objective of investigating the consolidation of infants' self-regulated night sleep over the first year.
The idea was to determine when infants first sleep through the night from 24:00 to 05:00 hours, or for 8 hours, or between 22:00 and 06:00 hours. These times were chosen as the times that most parents would love to have babies sleep through without waking.
Parents of 75 typically developing infants completed sleep diaries for 6 days each month for 12 months. The accuracy of the parent reports were assessed by using videosomnography. (time lapse video of the sleeping child)
The researchers found that the most rapid increase in uninterrupted sleep occurred between one and four months, during which the babies gradually stretched their sustained snooze time by nearly three hours.
At five months of age, 50% of infants were sleeping from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Babies reached the easier milestones earlier. Half of the babies slept from midnight to 5 a.m. by three months of age and 8 hours a night by four months, according to the October 25th online report in Pediatrics.
By 12 months, 85% of the babies met these two criteria -- but one of every four still wasn't sleeping from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
This study found that the most rapid consolidation in infant sleep regulation occurs in the first 4 months. Most infants are sleeping through the night at 2 and 3 months, regardless of the criterion used.
The most developmentally and socially valid criterion for sleeping through is from 22:00 to 0:600 hours.
At 5 months, more than half of the infants were sleeping concurrently with their parents.
Many infants have difficulties in consolidating their sleep and frequently wake during the night, which is a source of distress for the family. Understanding normal maturation may help in developing interventions and early prevention tools.
Sleep-promoting routines should include creating a sleep environment that is quiet, dark and at an appropriate temperature; maintaining consistent routines and sleep schedules; encouraging a baby to fall asleep and resume sleep in their cribs with little help; and gradually increasing intervals between night feedings.
If you would like help to improve your child's sleep Contact Dream-Angus.com
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