Most babies have no problem spending the majority of a day sleeping during the first few months of their lives. Of course: he needs food every few hours, but after that you soon see that he needs his rest again. Not only does your little one absorb all his or her impressions during his sleep, he literally grows and develops in Dreamland.
Why is good sleep important for your baby’s recovery?
Imagine what your baby won’t experience when he or she is first born. Everything, except certain movements and sounds he is used to from your belly, is new. And he has to process all these new sounds, touches and experiences during his sleep. Processing occurs not only through dreams, but also by literally creating new connections in the brain. It’s like installing wiring to get a grip on the world. Why is good sleep important for your baby’s growth? Of course you won’t see anything, but your baby literally grows in his sleep. The cerebral gland at the base of the brain secretes growth hormones during sleep. This happens during the light sleep phase, when your child is not dreaming. The body recovers, more blood is sent to the developing muscles and white blood cells are produced, which support the immune system.
Half of the time your child is in so-called REM sleep. This stands for Rapid Eye Movement, the eyes make rapid movements. During this dream sleep, your child’s learning ability improves because the blood supply to the brain is increased. This enables your baby to remember things better, the senses become sharper, cognitive ability increases and your baby is more alert when awake.
Why is good sleep important for your baby’s performance?
The effect of insufficient sleep in children is therefore greater than in adults. Enough sleep and also learning to sleep ensures a better appetite, a good mood and an increase in intellectual capacity. Moreover, an overtired child has difficulty falling asleep again, which means you end up in a vicious circle.
If your child is structurally deprived of sleep, learning and development can be affected. You may not notice this yet, but a link has indeed been shown between sleep deprivation and poor school performance. In fact, many school-age children lack two hours of sleep per night. This does not benefit their efforts in the classroom and their contact with other children.
Why is it important to teach your baby good sleeping habits?
If your baby learns good sleeping habits now, he will enjoy them for a lifetime. There are people who can get by with little sleep, but most of them really need their night’s rest. Moreover, if you have trouble sleeping at a young age, you run the risk of developing sleep problems later in life. And that in turn has consequences for your entire functioning. Teaching your child to sleep well is therefore important not only now, but also for the years ahead. For example, in puberty, when the body is again undergoing major changes, and in adulthood. Good sleep is the basis for a healthy life.
