Baby Sleep Day: Helpful Tips for Establishing a Healthy Sleep Routine

Today, March 1, is Baby Sleep Day. Baby Sleep Day brings atten­tion to the impor­tance of a good night’s sleep for every young child and their family.

Just as adults need a good night’s sleep, so do our lit­tle ones. Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG) Pedi­atric Nurse Prac­ti­tion­er Becky Camp­bell points to sev­en ben­e­fits of a healthy sleep rou­tine, including:

1. 1. Sleep pro­motes growth.
   2. Sleep helps the heart.
   3. Sleep affects weight.
   4. Sleep helps beat germs. (func­tion­ing of immune system)
   5. Sleep reduces injury risk.
   6. Sleep increas­es kids’ atten­tion span.
   7. Sleep boosts learning.

“Good, rest­ful sleep improves atten­tion, behav­ior, learn­ing, mem­o­ry, and over­all men­tal and phys­i­cal health,” she explained.

She added that many fac­tors can dis­rupt a child’s sleep pat­tern includ­ing teething, growth spurts, ill­ness, hunger, night ter­ror, or nightmares.

“Often, many will cause a tem­po­rary dis­rup­tion. If changes per­sist, con­sid­er oth­er things such as stress or changes in the house­hold. All chil­dren, regard­less of age are sen­si­tive to changes in their envi­ron­ment and can be sen­si­tive to care­giv­er stress and frus­tra­tion. The onset of poor sleep, that can’t be attrib­uted to ill­ness (ear infec­tion, URI, pain, etc.), might be a sig­nal of stress or anx­i­ety,” Camp­bell explained.

She offers the fol­low­ing tips for estab­lish­ing a sleep rou­tine for your baby.

• • Set a reg­u­lar sched­ule of naps and bed­time for your baby. Estab­lish­ing a rou­tine is the essence of get­ting your baby to devel­op good sleep habits. Put your baby down for a nap as soon as he or she acts sleepy. Your baby may rub his or her eyes when sleepy. If your baby gets too tired, it may be hard for him or her to get to sleep. If your infant miss­es a nap, try to keep him or her awake until the next nap time.
  • At night, set up a sooth­ing rou­tine. Give your baby a bath, sing lul­la­bies, read a book, or tell a sto­ry. These activ­i­ties can relax your baby. They also sig­nal that it is time to sleep. Do not get your baby excit­ed with active play right before sleep.
  • When your baby is get­ting sleepy, put your baby in his or her crib in a qui­et, dark­ened room. This will help your baby learn to go to sleep in his or her crib.
  • Do not rock your baby to sleep. Your baby will learn that you are need­ed to help him or her sleep. Rock your baby but put him or her to sleep while he or she is drowsy but still awake.
  • You can help your baby become a good sleep­er. The goal is to help your baby com­fort him­self or her­self so that you do not become your baby’s only source of com­fort at sleep time.
  • Remem­ber to put your baby down to sleep on his or her back. This decreas­es the risk of sud­den infant death syn­drome (SIDS).

Camp­bell said many par­ents wor­ry about their children’s sleep, but there is no ​“right” amount of sleep for chil­dren because each child’s needs are dif­fer­ent. But some chil­dren have sleep prob­lems that keep them, and often their fam­i­lies, from get­ting the sleep they need. Some sleep prob­lems go away on their own, and oth­ers may need med­ical care. Con­cern­ing changes or sleep dif­fi­cul­ties should be dis­cussed with your child’s provider.

“Your doc­tor will work with you to find out what is caus­ing your child’s sleep prob­lem. Some­times tests or sleep stud­ies are need­ed,” Camp­bell explained. ​“For many chil­dren, get­ting reg­u­lar exer­cise, eat­ing well, and hav­ing a good bed­time rou­tine relieves sleep problems.”

The Pedi­atrics team at QMG is here for you and your lit­tle ones. To sched­ule an appoint­ment or to estab­lish care with one of our providers, call (217) 222‑6550, ext. 3333 or vis­it quin​cymed​group​.com.

Book Rec­om­men­da­tions:

Camp­bell rec­om­mends the fol­low­ing read­ing mate­ri­als to help in your family’s sleep routines.

Book sug­ges­tions for Parents

Hap­pi­est Baby on the Block

Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child

Pre­cious Lit­tle Sleep

Books for children

Hap­py Hippo-It’s Time for Sleep

Ben­ny Goes to Bed by Himself

Good Night, Lit­tle Turtle

Night, Night to the Animals

10 Lit­tle Night Stars