A Baby Sleep Schedule: A Crucial Step Towards Good Sleep
A baby sleep schedule is easy to set up at any age and it is very effective at getting your baby into an all important healthy sleep rhythm. Tuning into the circadian rhythm makes it easier to fall asleep, take better naps and helps baby sleep through the night.
What is a baby sleep schedule?
A sleep schedule is a day-night planning you set up for your baby. It's like a daily agenda for sleeping times, set around the baby feeding schedule, playing, bathing and other baby activities (like giving mummy the cutest smile ever ...).
Of course - and lucky for us! - babies are no machines so do not think of this schedule as a rigid time regime. The sleep schedule, while providing your baby with a predictable sleep rhythm, will always be flexible enough to adapt to her, and your (!) needs of the day.
A sleep schedule may involve timed moments (like 1.15pm is bed time), or it may just be built on a regular set of cyclic events (eat, play, then sleep). Which option you choose depends on your own personality and on what feels best for your baby.To help you find out which type of schedule/routine best fits your baby, I've developed easy step-by-step tools: see the "Nap in a Snap" guide for full details.
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Why a sleep schedule?
The circadian rhythm
We are all on a
given daily
cycle, the circadian rhythm. That means that,
naturally, we have "high points" and "low points" of activity in each
day. At the low points (night time and siesta time) our body will be
very happy to sleep.
A well suited
regular sleep schedule helps reinforce this
process.
Newborn
babies do not have this well established
circadian rhythm yet. Their true day (= active) and night (= quiet)
rhythm
usually does not develop until the age of three or four months.
Developing this day/night rhythm similar to ours is one of the crucial early baby milestones.
A baby
sleep schedule helps support this baby development. See the newborn
sleep schedule page for how-to info.
Regular sleep is vital for good sleep, not just for babies but for older childrens and adults too.
Regular bedtimes are very recognisable and therefore comfortable for our body.
As we get used to sleeping at these given times, we will feel drowsy at these times and find sleep easily.
This is true as much for babies and children as for adults.
Three good reasons why an infant sleep schedule helps your baby sleep well:
-
Regular nap and night bed times make it easier for your baby to settle and start a good sleep.
-
Well chosen bedtimes help her take longer naps, sleep longer stretches at night and eventually, help baby sleep through the night.
-
Last but not least, regular naps during the day have shown to have a good effect on the nights. Rather than "resting her too much so she's not tired enough at night", regular naps ensure that your baby is not overtired by night time. And that leads to easier settling into longer nights.
Although most babies thrive on a schedule, some do not seem to need any. They will simply sleep at any time, usually also in any place. If that is your baby, and it suits you well, by all means there is no need to install a schedule.
But if sleep does become an issue
at some point, then more regularity can help.
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How to set up a good sleep schedule for your baby?
The best baby sleep schedules suit both you and your baby well. That means you combine her needs - when does she feel sleepy, when is she active and enjoying her surroundings - with your own - your activities, older children to be taken to school, ...
Typically,
-
the younger the baby, the more the schedule comes from her. As she gets older, you set the timing more
-
also, many parents find that a first baby has quite a lot of "influence" on her own schedule. Once there are older children, baby's sleep schedule will just fit into the family's day.
In any case, the best sleep schedule depends on your baby's age.
Intro Newborn 1-4 months 4-12 months
Read on for sleep tips in a newborn sleep schedule, up to 4 months and from 4 months to 1 year.
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