Is your newborn sleeping all day and awake all night? Are you wondering what you can do to help your little one make the change to sleeping more during the night and being awake more during the day?
The good news is that this is a very common sleep challenge with newborns and there are some ways you can help.
What is Day/Night Confusion?
Newborns aren’t born with a strong circadian rhythm (or body clock) and so they don’t yet have a sense of the difference between daytime and nighttime. As a result, their sleep can be quite random, and some newborns seem to have their days and nights confused.
What Does Day/Night Confusion Look Like?
A newborn that has their days and nights mixed up sleeps very well during the day; oftentimes only waking up for a feed, then drifting right back off to sleep until their next feed. Then they’re awake more often and for longer periods in the night; they may only sleep for an hour or two at a time and seem to need to be fed a lot.
A newborn’s circadian rhythm and sense of day and night develops over several weeks, but there are a few things you can do in the meantime to help.
What Can You Do To Help?
Here are some things you can do to help your baby separate day from night:
During the daytime:
- Wake your baby up for their regular feedings.
- Make sure your baby is exposed to sunlight during their awake time.
- Keep your baby active during their awake time, with exciting play or outings.
- Most parents find an Eat-Play-Sleep Routine works best. This way baby eats as soon as they wake up and has energy to play or go on outings before their next sleep.
During the nighttime:
- Keep your newborn’s bedroom very dark. You can use a dim red or yellow nightlight to help you see during diaper changes and feeds.
- Keep interactions with your baby to a minimum, and any interactions should be quiet and soothing.
These steps will help your newborn separate day from night so that they spend more time sleeping during the night and are awake and interactive for short periods of times during the day.
And this is also a win for you because not only are you helping your newborn establish some healthy sleep habits, but you’re going to enjoy some longer stretches of sleep during the night as well!
Need some extra support and guidance through your newborn’s sleep challenges? Schedule a FREE Sleep Evaluation Call to find out how I can help you lead your baby down the path to healthy sleep.