Using stimulating activities to promote sleep.

Jan 14

As discussed in our previous article Is Your Baby Getting Enough Sleep, not getting proper sleep can have adverse effects on a baby’s health. Babies who are not well-rested may wake up cranky and colicky. Overtired babies tend to lose their appetite and will have difficulty engaging with other people. On average, newborns will need 14-17 hours of sleep, while infants up to eleven months old will need 12-16 hours of sleep, and toddlers aged 1-2 will need 11-15 hours of sleep.

Parents should try to nurture healthy sleep habits to promote their young children’s learning development, attention span, and emotional and physical health. Activities that can keep young children relaxed, such as massages, baths, and storytelling can help fussy toddlers quiet down.

Below, we list a few different ways you can use stimulating activities to promote sleep in your little one.

Quiet Time

You can keep your baby relaxed by setting aside some quiet time. Quiet doesn’t mean completely silent - it means you have to create an environment free of disruptive noise, and full of calming sounds. If you want to hone your baby’s musical side, you can sing them a lullaby, or listen to calming songs with them.

Or, if you want to support your baby’s brain development, you can read them a story. Reading to a baby can boost their emotional and social development. It also gives them a head start on their language skills. Simple, repetitive texts from child-friendly fairy tales and rhyming books may help your baby relax.

Massage

Amy Brown, a professor of Child Public Health at Swansea University, together with associate professor at Western Sydney University Karleen Gribble, discuss the different ways parents can bond with their babies. They reveal that massaging can help release the happy hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin makes your baby feel more relaxed, which can help promote sleep. Brown and Gribble also note that massaging your baby and studying their cues of enjoyment can help you better understand what can soothe them most.

To massage your baby, look for a comfortable, quiet space. Lay them on their back on a towel on top of a bed or changing station. Starting with the head, rub each of your baby’s body parts with a gentle touch. You can use baby oil to remove friction and give gentler rubs. To build a bond with your baby, communicate with them as you massage them.

Bathtime

Nothing’s more relaxing than a warm bath. Fill a tub with 1-2 inches of water, heated to about 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Using baby wash and a small cloth, gently scrub your baby’s skin. Once you pick your baby up from the tub, their temperature will cool a little, which makes it a little easier for them to fall asleep.

Seeking Professional Help

If the above solutions don’t work, it may help to seek the guidance of a professional. Parents that want to minimize the risk of contracting Corona infections, especially since children are more vulnerable to the virus, may want to see sleep therapists or specialists through telehealth services.

If you're worried about the effectiveness of telehealth, know that today's healthcare programs have been designed to cater to the needs of the modern patient. Speaking to Health Tech Magazine, professor Mariea Snell detailed how video conferencing tools, combined with wearable monitoring technology, are laying the foundation for virtual care to revolutionize all aspects of the health space, from convenience to effectiveness. She outlined how “videoconferencing tools such as Skype, combined with wearables like Fitbits, are laying the foundation for virtual care to revolutionize all aspects of the health space,” Mariea Snell is an assistant professor for Maryville University’s online nursing practice programs.

The Yale Pediatric Sleep Center has been providing such remote services for years. Aside from scheduled video "visits," they also offer remote patient monitoring for continuous follow-up care. Given these developments, it's clear that virtual care can be as effective for your baby as in-person care.

Moreover, it may also help to take classes on the subject. Our Virtual Sleep Classes provide 4-5 easy to consume modules that cover topics such as short naps and early risings. Because they are video-based, parents can consume these classes at any pace they like. They are also online, which means a reduced risk for infection. E-book self-help guides may also help parents who learn better through reading.

Proper sleep is important for a child’s development. Through stimulating activities like baths, quiet time, and massages, you can build your bond with your baby while also helping them relax.

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