10 Common Sleep Disruptors in Babies

10 Common Sleep Disruptors in Babies

Motherhood is not always easy, but when you add sleep deprivation to the mix it can be downright hard! It’s easy to tell when our little one’s can’t sleep well, and it’s easy to worry because we know sleep is crucial to their health and development. Figuring out WHY our little one’s are struggling with sleep on the other hand isn’t always easy peasy lemons squeeze.

These 10 common sleep disruptors can help shed some light on exactly why your little one may be struggling with sleep and help you know what to do next!

1. Overtiredness

• Ironically, when babies, toddlers and even preschoolers are overtired they end up fighting sleep and sleeping more superficially. We can blame it on a little thing called adenosine. Although adenosine in the right quantities can help us fall asleep, when our little one’s get too tired they can fight bedtime and nap time, leading them to get less sleep.

2.Unbalanced Sleep Debt

• Adenosine is that little magical by product of being awake that we accumulate and eventually makes us feel tired, signalling its time to go to sleep. But like all good things, you can have too much, too little, and just enough of it. Naps in babies serve to titrate adenosine, or sleep debt to the right amounts. Many sleep problems are caused by the sleep debt being unbalanced and babies treating nighttime like nap times. 

3.Patterned Wakes

• ‘Just wait it out’ has to be the most damaging thing parents get told when it comes to sleep problems. When a baby wakes every 2h at night and we have to intervene to get them back to sleep such as feeding them, if we wait and don’t address the root cause, the pattern can become entrenched in the baby's brain which means… it never stops, unless you use sleep education to tailor make a solution that addresses the root cause.

4.Environmental Checks

• The infamous 4 month sleep regression is the culprit of what we refer to as environmental checks. Starting at about 4 months, babies start sleeping in sleep cycles with an average of 45 min to 90 min per cycle. Between each cycle, or every 2 cycles their brains are in charge of checking the environment for safety (weird noises, pain, too cold or warm etc) and then drift into the next sleep cycle. But for many babies it's not so easy. Watch this short video that explains it in depth.

5.Light Sleep

• Babies who are overtired tend to sleep lightly which means they are more easily awoken by sounds or lights. The way around this is usually to modify the sleep debt and actually decrease it, in other words, sometimes it means bedtime needs to be earlier or your little one needs more naps!

6.Tummy Troubles

• Digestive issues such as gas, reflux, or constipation can cause discomfort. At BeBaby we have a saying that bowel movements are our crystal balls…As nasty as that may sound, it's crucial to attend to BOTH digestive issues and sleep issues at the same time. Check this article out that explains it very well.

7.Having the Jitters

• There is nothing more terrifying than seeing bedtime approach while your toddler is still zooming across the living room in a hyper-active state! Some kids really struggle with slowing down and calming down before bed, and this makes bedtime particularly difficult, it’s like trying to sleep after consuming an energy drink! A solid, calming, soothing, dimmed light bedtime routine including a warm bath is what the sleep consultant ordered. 

Teething

• Once babies start teething it can often feel like it never stops. Shirts ruined in drool, toys munched to the breaking point, and fussy babies are all very good signs! Although swollen gums and emerging teeth can certainly cause discomfort this usually happens at bedtime or naptime and can easily be resolved by proper use of acetaminophen and homoeopathic remedies (consult your pharmacist for the dosages and frequencies). Contrary to popular belief teething does not lead to night wakes as melatonin, something our bodies produce during sleep is a natural analgesic, or pain reliever. There is ONE exception and that is when molars come!

Separation Anxiety

• Peeking at around 9 months, separation anxiety can suddenly cause your little one to be extremely upset if you even attempt to go to the washroom alone! This is caused by the sudden realisation that you and him are two different people and you CAN leave, which they do not like! During playtime, at naptime and bedtime, the best way to handle this is to slowly extend your physical presence while coming back repeatedly to ‘play’ or kiss them with increasing distance and time. 

Ex:

• Sally is 9 months old and is playing with blocks. Mom is sitting on the floor next to her and interacts with the toy and her every 45 seconds.
• Mom scoots further by 1 meter (3.38 feet) away but interacts with Sally and her toys every 1 min.
• Mom sits on the sofa, 1.5m (4.92  feet) away but goes to interact with Sally and her toy every 2 min, then every 5 min. 
• Eventually Sally’s mom is able to leave and go to the washroom and Sally is not bothered.

Sleep Disruptions

• Consistency is key. I know you hate hearing it but it is the truth. Travelling, skipping naps, time changes etc can all have impacts on your little one’s sleep. When your baby struggles with sleep to begin with it, it’s important to dedicate a few weeks to resolving the issue and then start ‘going out more’. It is possible, albeit very difficult to fix sleep problems, when the schedule keeps changing and the conditions aren’t favourable to good sleep. Have you tried sleeping under your kitchen table in broad daylight? It's not easy!

Understanding your little one’s potential sleep disruptors is the best point to start at to then be able to build a customised sleep education plan. We have both an article as well as a video that explains these processes.

If you’d like some expert guidance contact us and one of the BeBaby trained consultants will be happy to help you with sleep, breastfeeding, parenting, pregnancy or even your fertility needs!

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