Sleep all through the night - without crying!

A lot of families with children are plagued by sleepless nights, where parents and children sleep badly and sleep too little. It is imperative, that you have a safe sleeping place for your child and that you have good routines about falling asleep and about sleeping. If so, there is a high probability that the quiet nights also will come to you.

Sleep is important for everyone - adults and children alike. If you are unable to sleep, or if you are woken many times when you want to sleep, it may destroy both night and day for you. For sleep is invigorating for the soul and body.

During sleep a lot happens in both the brain and the body. You can compare some of what happens in the brain, with how to keep tidy in a computer. For example, the files are placed in the right places, the hard disk is cleansed of noise (fragments of files), and that things are placed appropriately. Dreams can be compared with a kind of cleanup program where the consciousness is purified, old scraps are thrown out, and topics are put together in new and constructive ways.

For the body rest and sleep allows the muscles to relax and the cells regenerate. During sleep various substances are produces, which are secreted in greater quantities than when you are awake. This applies, for example, for various hormones, including growth hormones and hormones that promote the formation of milk in lactating women.

If you, night after night, is awakened every time you have just fallen asleep, most people, as the nights go, becomes depressed, psychotic or have other psychiatric disorders. It is scary to think that this is used as a torture instrument. But it also tells us, that the parents must prioritize to get their sleep back, both for sake of the child, but also for the adults..

There are so many arguments to prioritize the good sleep in any family. But to fall asleep and sleep is not necessarily something that happens all by itself for all children. An important foundation for sleep is a good place to sleep.

Falling asleep

The child sleeps much "dream sleep", called REM sleep. The type of sleep is shallow, and the baby is breathing irregularly, the eyes have quick, small movements behind closed eyelids (Rapid Eye Movements), and many babies wake up easily when they are in this stage. Most also easily falls back asleep. So wait a little, and don't do anything until you have seen, if the child falls asleep again. Perhaps a slight humming is enough, or a gentle touch on the forehead or over the muzzle. For many children, the first superficial sleep well last 20 minutes to ½ hour.

When a child is tired, it must be allowed to sleep. The child sleeps better if it has a clean diaper, is full and the temperature is pleasant. If it can be avoided, don't accustom your baby to sleep with a breast or a pacifier in his or hers mouth. It is also unwise to accustom the child to hold the father's or mother's hand when it is about to sleep. Then the pacifier, the breast or the hands will be the signal to that now is the time to sleep for the child. Crying can also work the same way if the child gets used to cry before sleeping. The trick is to make the child falls asleep without any specific stimuli.

It is not good for any children for them to cry themselves to sleep. A child that cries must be comforted. If something is wrong, you must help the child. Food, clean diaper, less light or less noise or more security. Is the child sick, then you must consider what is wrong. Is it hot (signs of fever)? Is it cold? Is it a stomach ache? Is this constipation? Consider wether a health visitor or doctor should be contacted and asked for advice.