The baby is restless when sleeping and is easily awakened. The reason why the baby is restless when sleeping

Why do babies sleep restlessly and wake up easily? Doesn't suppressing this state mean that the baby's sleep quality is poor? What can mothers do to make their babies sleep peacefully? Let's take a look~

Reasons why babies are restless when sleeping

The average sleep time of a newborn baby is 18 to 20 hours a day. Apart from feeding, almost all the time is spent sleeping. As the baby grows older, the sleep time gradually shortens. If the baby does not sleep well at night, it will not only affect the mother's normal rest, but also affect the baby's healthy development. The baby's restless sleep at night is generally manifested by the baby always crying, which is a headache for the mother. The main reasons for the baby's restless sleep at night are bloating, hunger, wet diapers, coquetry, irritability before bed, breastfeeding, noisy environment, cold or hot weather, colic, otitis media, gastroenteritis, or hernia. These reasons can make the baby sleep unsteadily at night.

Reasons why babies sleep restlessly

Reason 1: Physiological factors

Description of the situation: The nervous system of infants and young children is not yet fully developed, and the excitatory and inhibitory functions of the nerves are not coordinated enough. They are easily excited, and any slight external stimulation may cause excitement of the nervous system and cause the baby to wake up. This is a normal physiological phenomenon.

Solution: As the baby grows and develops, this physiological phenomenon will gradually disappear.

The second reason why babies sleep unsteadily: unreasonable eating

Condition description: The baby may have abdominal distension between meals, and the frequency varies from person to person. Some mothers feed the baby several times every night, which results in the baby eating too much milk while sleeping, causing abdominal distension and waking up easily, affecting the quality of sleep.

Solution: Gradually reduce the number of feedings and do not let your baby develop the habit of feeding at night.

View details Reason 3: Environmental interference

Condition description: Too many noisy sounds, too much vibration or visual stimulation can also make the baby restless and cry. Too much light in the room, family members watching TV and talking and laughing loudly can all disturb the baby's normal sleep and easily wake him up.

Solution: Create a good sleeping environment for your baby: quiet, dim light. Let your baby urinate before going to bed.

Reason 4: The quilt is too thick or too thin

Description of the situation: The baby is prone to kicking off the quilt at night, or the quilt is too thick or too thin, which will cause the baby to be too cold or too hot when sleeping, causing the baby to be restless and move his hands and feet randomly. This is also a common reason for babies to sleep restlessly.

Solution: Keep the baby's abdomen warm and cover it with something light, soft and dry.

Reason 5: Overheating or overcooling

Situation description: Hot summer or cold winter, the change of seasons will affect the indoor temperature. If the indoor temperature is too hot or too cold, the baby will feel anxious or uncomfortable and cry easily.

Solution: It is best to keep the indoor temperature at around 24℃.

Reason 6 for the baby's restless sleep: pathological factors

Condition description: Otitis media, gastroenteritis, or hernia, colic and other diseases may also be the cause of the baby's restless sleep and easy awakening and crying when he is unwell. In addition, intestinal parasites are the most common cause of restless sleep in infants, and infants with early rickets often wake up easily when they sleep.

Solution: If this happens frequently, parents need to take their baby to the hospital to see a doctor, find out the cause of the disease and treat it early.

Symptoms of restless baby sleep

Some babies always like to kick the quilt after falling asleep (even if they are wearing very little). Some also like to toss and turn, and seem to never sleep well. Parents are often confused by this. There are generally two possibilities for this situation. One is that it is caused by yin deficiency and lung heat, which indicates that the child is probably suffering from respiratory diseases, such as colds, pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc. Parents should take their children to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible, and take medicine under the guidance of the doctor for prevention and treatment. The second is that there is food in the stomach. It is best for parents to take their children to see a pediatrician. The current dietary structure makes the proportion of children suffering from adult diseases higher and higher, so be careful to prevent children from suffering from gastrointestinal diseases such as gastritis and gastric ulcers.

Care tips for restless baby sleep There are many ways for babies to fall asleep at night. Some babies play non-stop before going to bed, and when they want to sleep, they fall asleep as soon as they lie in their mother's arms. Some babies go to bed at the prescribed time and often fall asleep as soon as they fall asleep. Some children toss and turn for a long time before falling asleep after going to bed. Some babies want to breastfeed before going to bed, and they also suck on an empty bottle or stroke their mother's hair with their little hands before going to sleep. So, how to make babies fall asleep earlier?

Children who have trouble falling asleep are generally energetic. They must be allowed to move around more during the day and play until they are very tired. They should not be too excited before falling asleep. For babies who wake up in the middle of the night, if they can fall asleep with breast milk, they can be fed with breast milk or milk. The baby can fall asleep while sucking milk. What if they develop bad habits? Don't worry. As long as they don't develop the habit of getting up in the middle of the night to play, the baby will not get up in the middle of the night when he grows up a little.

If the baby wants to lie in the same bed with the mother before going to bed, the mother should be happy, because this can make the baby feel more at ease and fall asleep peacefully. If bathing can make the baby fall asleep quickly, you should bathe him before going to bed.

Things to note when your baby is restless while sleeping

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

2. Most babies have trouble sleeping because of the acquired environment and their parents’ inappropriate expectations, and there is no pathological problem. Therefore, parents can first deal with it by improving the environment to see if the problem can be solved. However, if all methods have been tried and the baby still cries frequently or sleeps restlessly, you can also observe the baby for pathological signs.

3. If the baby has no other discomfort, the reason why he often wakes up at night is largely because he is used to it. If you hold him or feed him every time he wakes up, it will form a vicious cycle. It is recommended that when the baby wakes up at night (he should be drowsy), do not hold him immediately, let alone tease him. You should pat him immediately, comfort him and try to make him fall asleep. Generally, if the baby is in a drowsy state, he will fall asleep slowly.

4. Follow the baby's biological clock. If the baby really doesn't want to sleep, parents don't need to force it, because if the baby still doesn't sleep after comforting him for a long time, parents will be more tired. So, when the baby wants to sleep, let him sleep more, and when the baby doesn't want to sleep, play with him for a while.