Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Tips for Baby Sleep

From research we know how important regular sleep times and routines are for good sleep. These tips are the first step to help your baby sleep through the night.

Establish a set bedtime and regular nap times — and stick to them.
A sleep schedule is vital for good sleep. Going to bed and getting up at regular or easily recognized times each day is ideal for the human body. You should establish a regular bedtime, as well as consistent nap times, to regulate baby's sleep patterns.

Choose a reasonable bedtime that suits your family's schedule and stick to it as much as possible. If your baby seems to want to stay up past bedtime, consider this: Energetic behavior late at night can be a sign that a child is tired.

Baby's bedtime routine
A bedtime routine is a set of actions and words you do with and say to your child at each bedtime. By doing this over and over, your baby will recognize that it is time for bed. Whatever routine works for your family is fine, as long as you do it in the same order and at the same time every night. Babies thrive on consistency.

Sleep helps beats obesity
New Research finds that children who go to bed early and wake early are less likely to become obese than children who go to bed late, even if they get the same amount of sleep.

Early risers accumulated 27 more minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day. The late-to-bed and late-to-rise kids tended to watch TV, play video games or surf online 48 minutes longer each day than early-to-bed kids.

Late-nighters were almost twice as likely to be physically inactive and 2.9 times more likely to sit in front of the TV or computers for longer than guidelines recommend.

And all that inactivity seems to catch up. The kids who went to bed late were 1.5 times more likely to be obese than those who went to bed early and got up early, the researchers found.

Precious Treasures is here to support our parents when issues with sleep are being experienced. We want to be a resource for you so please come to us for advice when you need guidance on specific issues related to sleep. We'll do our best to help your baby (and you) get a good night's rest!

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