Setting Healthy Sleep Habits 💤

We all know that sleep is so important for mental function. But babies wake often to feed throughout the first year and sometimes beyond. So what are things parents can do to set healthy sleep habits for themselves and their babies?

1. Get Support - Ask for help at night with baby soothing or diapering or during the day

2. Turn in Early - You may be in bed for a long time (babies generally sleep 12 hours overnight) but with interrupted sleep it’s important to have as much opportunity for shut eye as you can.

3. Share Night Duties - Ask a partner or a grandparent to support the primary caregiver with a 3-4 hour stretch of sleep early in the evening (8pm-12am). Aim for an early stretch of sleep so that when prolactin (your lactating hormone) spikes at around 1 am - 5 am you will be more rested and can be available on demand for feeding. 

4. Breastfeed! - Prolactin is the milk-making hormone and it can help mothers go to sleep after feeding. In addition, babies get melatonin through the milk (which is synthesized from an amino acid: tryptophan) and also cholecystokinin which relaxes and induces sleep.

5. Skip Chores During the Day - If nighttime was rough, take some pressure off of the expectation of a clean house or executing errands. 

6. Nap - This one is not for everyone, but if it’s something you can squeeze in, or find support around, lay down during the day for a little snooze. Especially if you have a toddler, this can be hard (but so restorative).

7. Good Sleep Hygiene - Before bed, turn down lights, limit liquid intake for parents, avoid caffeine late in the day, bath time, stick to a schedule with a fixed bedtime. 

8. Set Circadian Rhythm - Start with a fixed wake and bed time every day. Get a lot of daylight/fresh air and even movement during the day and allow natural noises in the house during nap time. Conversely ensure night time has reduced stimulation, darkness, and quiet. Babies and adults will notice the distinct difference between the two, and this will induce the baby and parents' natural diurnal internal clock.

9. Sleep Begets Sleep - People say this all the time in relation to babies, but what does it mean? It means that the more rhythmic opportunities for reasonable resting during the day, the more chance of ease with rest during the night as well. This is due to reduced cortisol levels in the brain which build up from lack of proper resting throughout the day and that make it hard to settle at night.