Why can't babies sleep well at night?

Babies should normally get enough sleep, sleeping most of the 24 hours a day. However, some babies cannot sleep well at night and will wake up after a while, or even cry incessantly. Many parents are worried about their babies' physical health. Let's understand why babies cannot sleep well at night.

1. Lack of trace elements and low blood calcium levels will cause increased excitability of the brain and autonomic nerves, resulting in the baby's restless sleep at night. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation is needed. If calcium is deficient, the baby's fontanelle will not close well; if zinc is deficient, the corners of the mouth will generally ulcerate.

2. Too hot or too cold

3. Too dry, with mucus in the nose

4. Don’t play too excitedly before going to bed, go to bed on time: 0.5 to 1 hour before the baby goes to sleep, the baby should be calmed down. Don’t play too excitedly before going to bed, and don’t tease the baby too much. This prevents your baby from having difficulty falling asleep due to being too excited or nervous. No stimulating TV shows, no tense or scary stories, and no new toys. Create a good sleeping environment for your baby. The room temperature is suitable, quiet and the light is dim. The covering should be light, soft and dry. Let your baby urinate before going to bed.

5. Pay attention to whether there are pinworms outside the anus.

6. Many mothers think their babies are hungry when they see them wake up crying at night, and then they feed them. In fact, this is a very bad habit. Doing so will instead cause the child to develop the habit of wanting to breastfeed when he wakes up at night.

7. Indigestion, indigestion, getting angry or eating too much at night can also cause restless sleep. It is recommended to feed solid foods such as porridge and noodles at least two or three hours before going to bed, and then drink a little milk before going to bed.

8. Breastfed babies are addicted to milk. (This happens to many breastfeeding babies)

9. If you must breastfeed at night, please note: Try to maintain a quiet environment. When feeding or changing diapers at night, do not let your child wake up completely (it is best to be in a semi-asleep state). In this way, it will be easier to fall asleep after feeding and changing diapers. Gradually reduce the number of feedings and do not let your child develop the habit of feeding at night.

10. If your baby wakes up at night because he wants to pee, I think he should be given a diaper so that his sleep will not be affected by holding him to pee. If you use diapers, they must be too tight.

11. When you find your child is sleepy, put him in the crib immediately. It is better to let your baby fall asleep on his own if you hold or rock him to sleep every time. Then whenever he wakes up at night, he will need you to hold him or rock him to fall asleep.

12. Do not let your baby fall asleep with a pacifier in his mouth. Pacifiers are for babies to suck milk, not for sleeping. If some children fall asleep with a pacifier in their mouth, please gently remove the pacifier before putting them to bed.

13. When a baby aged 4 to 6 months old cries, do not react immediately. Wait for a few minutes, because most children will fall asleep again naturally after waking up at night for a few minutes. If the child keeps crying, parents should go over to comfort him, but do not turn on the lights, play with him, pick him up or shake him. If the baby's crying gets worse, wait two minutes and check again, and consider whether he is hungry, has urinated, has a fever, or has any other signs of illness.

The above are the various reasons why babies cannot sleep well at night. For the baby’s physical health, try to create a good sleeping environment for the baby. Because the baby has not yet fully adapted to the external environment, the requirements for the sleeping environment are very high. Try to sleep in a ventilated place to make the baby sleep more comfortably.