babysleep Archives - HealthyLux

Ahh sleep! It seems like being a new mom and having a goodnight sleep is quite of a tricky combination. Or is it just me?

These past few nights have been quite of a challenge as my baby is currently going through a developmental leap, and it seems she’s very eager to practice her new skills during the night. Party time in the crib for her, but not so much fun for mama. And so I have seen first hand how lack of sleep can affect us. And you guessed it – it makes a tremendous difference when we have good quality sleep. So let’s talk about the importance of a goodnight sleep today, and how we can make sure we get it. I will share with you what I do to get a few good hours of sleep even during these challenging days as well.

What happens in your body when you don’t sleep enough?

Apart from the obvious effects lack of sleep has on us, such as tiredness, grumpiness and lack of concentration, there are other even more surprising effects it can cause us. Lack of sleep can lead to a series of health problems such as heart issues and increased blood pressure. Lack of sleep can also alter our glucose tolerance. This means the body will have more trouble recognising the glucose floating around in the blood, and instead of putting it in the cells of the body, where it can be used to fuel activity, it will be left in the blood, thus rising our blood sugar level. This can increase the risk of diabetes. The impaired glucose tolerance coming from lack of sleep can also make us feel more tired and hungry (remember the body is not properly fuelling our cells), which will make us eat more. And as we eat more, but the body is not making proper use of the excess of calories, you guessed it – we gain weight. I hear many people saying “Oh well, I don’t sleep much, but at least it helps me lose weight”. Now you know how untrue this statement is!

As we tend to get more agitated and stressed, our heart rate goes up. Sleep deprivation tends to impair the proper secretion of cortisol. Going on a few nights without proper sleep will increase your cortisol levels especially in the evening and it will take the body longer to bring them down. This on the other hand will make it harder for you to relax and drift into a peaceful sleep. And so a vicious circle can begin. The higher level of cortisol on the other hand increases our risk of diabetes and weight gain. Not nice. Cortisol levels are linked especially to retaining belly fat. So if you are having trouble losing the weight around your waste, maybe it would be a good idea to check the stress levels in your life!

Just as important is the effect lack of sleep has on our immune system too. During the night the inflammation rate in our body increases to support our body to form an initial response to bugs and invaders. This enhances the immune function in our body. But when our sleep is disrupted this inflammatory state gets imbalanced, which disrupts the proper functioning of our immune system and can lead to chronic illness.

No need to mention the other aspects of sleep deprivation and how it impacts our entire life – because of tiredness we will be more prone to skip a workout or a social gathering. Because we will feel more foggy we will become clumsy and our performance level will decrease as well. And lastly, lack of sleep will result in puffy eyes and skin that is more prone to aging.

While I am not trying to depress you with all of this, I simply want to make you aware of just how important it is to sleep. ☺

How to make sure you get a good quality sleep?

I have mentioned this already a few times in my recent posts. And there is a reason why – this is the little secret that helps me get a few good hours of sleep every night! It’s called establishing a good evening routine. This is really important, as it will signal your body that it’s time to relax and to get into a sleepy mode. So what I do is I start with a warm self-massage or I dry brushing before I take a shower. I then take a nice shower, put on soft cotton pajamas and make myself a hot tea. I normally read a book or have a conversation with my husband while I’m drinking my tea. Then I go to bed – lights out and I’m out too. It has taken me a while to stop a very unhealthy habit of always checking my phone or to watch a show before bed. But since I have stopped I noticed how my sleep got better. I fall asleep quicker and deeper. So try to stay away from electronics in the evening. They can really contribute to sleep trouble.

Another thing I try to do as much as I can is to sleep when baby sleeps. I know, this is easier said than done. But if I haven’t had a good night sleep, I always sleep during one of her daily naps. Mostly it is her second nap. So while she is having her first nap I can do other things (like writing this blog post :)).

The third thing is that I have learned to go to bed early. This one is tricky because you might think – oh the baby just fell asleep so let’s just hang out. We surely do this when she is sleeping well through the night, but when I know she is in a more difficult period, I go to bed within two hours after I put her down. This way I do get a good amount of sleep hours.

So if you take anything out of this post let it be this – recognize the importance sleep has on our health and wellbeing and make time for downtime every day. Establishing a good evening routine (just as you did for baby) is a guarantee you will improve the quality of your sleep as well.

What do you do to make sure you have a goodnight sleep?

Vesela Savova Drews – HealthyLux Passionate Contributor

Owner at Plateful nutrition

HealthyLux October theme – Get some sleep

If your baby or toddler is having trouble sleeping through the night, the first thing you should know is… you’re not alone! Studies show that up to 30% of babies have sleep problems, and that 75% of parents would like to change their babies’ sleep habits.

The good news is that there are some quick and easy things you can do – starting tonight – to help your little one starting sleeping all through the night… and taking long, restful naps during the day!

So, as promised, here they are: The Five Steps to Getting Your Baby to Sleep through the Night!

Step 1: Choose an early bedtime.

The best time to put your baby or toddler to bed is sometime between 6 and 8 o’clock in the evening. This ensures that your child will be able to get a solid 11-13 hours of sleep during the night. (And yes… that is how much sleep children should be getting every night up until the age of about 10.)

Step 2: Put your child to sleep in the same place every night.

Whether your child has a room of their own or shares a room with parents or siblings, it’s important that you put your son or daughter to sleep in the same place every night (and for naps during the day as much as possible.) Putting your child to bed in a familiar place lets them know they are safe and that they are in a place where sleep is expected of them.

Step 3: Create a predictable bedtime routine.

Consistency and predictability are really important to babies and toddlers. When they know what to expect at bedtime, it makes it *much* easier for them to make the transition from waking to sleeping – and that’s why creating a bedtime routine is so important!

A good example of a bedtime routine might be something like this:

6:20 p.m. Bath time
6:35 p.m. Put on pyjamas
6:40 p.m. Nursing or bottle (NOTE: Do NOT let your child fall asleep while feeding!)
6:55 p.m. Story or songs
7:00 p.m. into crib or bed

Your bedtime routine shouldn’t take more than about 45 minutes, and it’s VERY important that the routine is the same every single night. The repetition and predictability are what let your child know that he or she will soon be expected to fall asleep.

Step 4: Put your baby to bed AWAKE!

If you’ve been rocking, nursing, or otherwise soothing your baby to sleep, this is going to seem like a tough one… but it’s actually the most important step! It’s only by letting your baby fall asleep WITHOUT your help at bedtime that he or she can learn the skills necessary to stay asleep through the night.

Step 5: If your baby wakes up during the night, wait a few minutes before intervening.

Everyone – babies and adults alike – will actually wake up several times every night. For most adults, these wakings are so brief that we don’t even remember them the next morning. However, many babies will immediately start to fuss or cry when they wake up.

This is simply because they haven’t learned how to fall asleep on their own. If a baby has been nursed or rocked to sleep at bedtime since birth, it’s not surprising that they wouldn’t know how to fall asleep independently. The good news is that many babies can figure out how to get back to sleep within just a few minutes of waking up in the night!

If your child continues to fuss or cry for more than a few minutes, you’ll want to go in and offer some comfort, but it’s important to let your child do the work of falling back to sleep. You can speak softly to your child and do some gentle rubbing or patting, but you should avoid picking your child up and rocking or nursing back to sleep.

So there you have it… the 5 most important things you need to know about getting your child to sleep through the night. Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that every child is a little different – there’s no “magic formula” that will work 100% of the time for every baby!

My passion (and my profession) is helping parents like you develop customized plans for solving child sleep problems, so if you have any questions about what you’ve just read, please feel free to get in touch!

All the best and Simply trust your baby 🙂

Elena Werner, HealthyLux passionate contributor

Elena’s Sleep Champions

HealthyLux October theme – Get some sleep