

When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. By then they'll not only be ready to sleep for longer stretches, but they'll also be much more receptive to the techniques you use.īab圜enter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. But as desperate as you may be for some solid shut-eye, your baby won't be ready for formal sleep training until they're 4 to 6 months old. Wait until they're ready for sleep trainingįollowing these tips helps establish healthy sleep habits, and you can start to work on these as early as the first month of your baby's life. When they wake up, sniff to see if their diaper is soiled and change only if there's poop. Instead, put your baby in a high-quality nighttime diaper at bedtime, and apply diaper-rash cream as a preventative measure. Resist the urge to change your baby every time they wake up – they don't always need it, and you'll just jostle them awake. Soothe them back to sleep with a quiet voice and gentle touch. If you go to your baby at night, don't talk excitedly.

The more you interact with your baby during the night, the more they're motivated to wake up. Try not to engage too much with your baby when they wake up – this could inadvertently encourage them to snap out of their sleep zone. If early morning sunlight prompts your child to wake too early, or if they have trouble napping in the afternoon, consider putting up blackout curtains.Instead, soothe them back to sleep in their dark bedroom. The shift from dark to light tells their brain it's go time. If your child wakes up during the night, don't turn on the lights or take them into a brightly lit room.(And don't plug it in near bedding or drapes.) It's fine to use a night light in your baby's room, but choose a small, dim one that stays cool to the touch.Lower the lights in the evening (up to two hours before bedtime) to set the mood. To induce nighttime sleepiness, consider installing dimmers on the lights in your baby's room, and also in other rooms where you both spend lots of time.Put your baby down for daytime naps in a well-lit room (unless they have trouble falling asleep at nap time). During the day, allow plenty of sunlight into the house or take your baby outside.Keep your baby's days bright and their nights dark to help them figure out when it's time to sleep. Light is a powerful biological signal – daylight wakes us up, while darkness triggers the brain to release melatonin, a key sleep hormone.
