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Sleep
Problems - Helpful Tips for your Baby and You sleep
needs Did
you know that newborn babies need up to 21 hours sleep a day and children from
six months to two years of age need at least 12 hours sleep? Sleep deprivation
can cause problems for everyone in the family: fractious babies during the day,
exhausted mothers and an anxious, stressful atmosphere. sleep
deprivation Sleep
starvation is a huge problem for today's parents. A survey of 2,000 new parents
and 2,000 people aged 55 to 65 was carried out by Mother and Baby and Yours magazines.
It found today's parents try all kinds of things to get their babies to sleep
through the night, including taking the infant into their own bed. In
contrast, parents in the 1960s and 1970s tended to say their babies had slept
peacefully in their own cots. today's
parents New
mothers of young babies reported that, on average, they only have three and a
half hours sleep a night, compared to five hours which the older generation said
they used to get. Two
thirds of those surveyed said this "sleep starvation" left them feeling bad-tempered,
with the same proportion reporting irritation with their partner. Other problems
included being tearful, forgetful, depressed, more accident prone or clumsy, unable
to function properly, and irritable with their baby. so
what's different? In
the 60s and 70s roles tended to be more clear-cut. Fathers went to work and earned
the money, mothers stayed at home and brought up the family. Mothers
today often feel they are expected to bring up the family and earn money doing
something interesting. This situation can create anxiety: family members can often
be living miles away from each other, so there's very little support for the parents.
30-40 years ago you probably had relatives living nearby who could help with babysitting
and be there to offer advice - generally to calm the situation. I
saw a lot of young families while running a homeopathic clinic in Bristol. They
rarely had family support nearby. Here in Cornwall it is noticeable that there
is more family support, possibly because this is primarily a rural area, strong
in traditions. vicious
circle Anxiety
breeds anxiety. If you're feeling tense and anxious the chances are that your
baby will pick up on this and react in a similar way, so you get caught in a vicious
circle. When other family members come home they pick up on it too. Obviously
when you're getting up several times a night to breast-feed you're going to feel
very tired, but there is a great difference between being tired and tense and
tired and relaxed. The chances are that if you have periods of time when you can
relax then your quality of sleep will improve. Your baby will pick up on this
and learn to relax as well and your baby's quality of sleep will improve because
of this. Sometimes
a baby can be irritable simply because he or she hasn't had enough sleep. When
a young baby isn't sleeping at all well it can affect the whole family. Obviously
with new born babies disruption is expected but when the problem persists, sometimes
for years, the results can be devastating. benefits
of good sleep While
your baby is sleeping his or her cells are being regenerated, so the quality and
amount of sleep is very important in the development of your infant. Often over-stimulated
babies calm themselves by looking away, yawning or sucking on their lips - this
self-relaxation increases their parasympathetic activity and reduces sympathetic
nervous activity. In
plain English the parasympathetic nervous system chills us out and the sympathetic
nervous system stresses us out. The two systems work side by side to create a
flow in the system. However, for example, through lack of sleep, this balance
gets thrown out and your baby is more stressed out then muscles tense up and blood
vessels are constricted. In
this culture, with all its inherent pressures, people's Sympathetic systems very
often stay on guard, unable to give in to the softer, more gentle flows of the
Parasympathetic system. If we're used to being tense we might not even think it
a problem if our baby is also tense - and, as with adults, a chronic state of
tension leads to stress related symptoms and illness. what
can help? Learning
to relax for a start. There are many forms of relaxation. Yoga, meditation, tai
chi, pilates - these are just a few choices. There may be classes nearby or you
could watch a video at home to learn the right moves. start
early During
pregnancy, especially the final trimester, there can be anxiety about the impending
birth. Regular listening to relaxing music to help create a relaxed state during
pregnancy can actually help during the birth itself. By the time your baby is
born, your body will have learned to relax even more deeply to the music, as a
conditioned response.
Mothers-to-be are encouraged to play music to their unborn babies because research
has shown babies can respond and be soothed by soft music both before and after
birth. According to Dr. Thomas Verny, author or 'The Secret Life of the Unborn
Child' your baby can kick in time to music from 25 weeks. The right musical stimulation
can enhance development, encourage sucking and promote weight gain in newborn
babies as well as help them to be relaxed and calm. a
relaxing day Imagine
the difference you could make to your life by getting into the habit of relaxing
through activities like yoga, meditation or listening to calming music every day
- especially if you set a regular time. It's worth it. If
you and your baby are more relaxed then sleep is going to be a lot easier. If
your baby is spending his or her time in a relaxed and calm state during the later
part of the day or around the time you would like him or her to start dropping
off, it can only help. We're
the same - if we've just been dancing away at a party we're hardly likely to be
in the mood to sleep straight afterwards - we'd be buzzing - so why should babies
be any different? Article
written by Daphne Nancholas home | 
