Sleep builds Sleep

 
I’ve been helping a few people this week to help get their baby to sleep.  When we are discussing what is happening or not  happening for sleep so we can work out what steps to take, the knowledge that sleep builds sleep often takes people by surprise.

To get good quality sleep, you need to be relaxed.  When any of us are overtired, we tend to have more difficulty going off to sleep. The same is true for your baby and toddler.

When this idea is new to you , it can take a little while to get your head around.  For a lot of us it doesn’t seem to make to make sense.  Most people think that if any of us are over tired we will just go to sleep because we are exhausted.

At times this may appear true. Certainly there are many, many babies who do this every day.  They are so beyond overtired that they just crash, often after being awake for hours on end , beyond what they can cope with.  Most times, they are cranky and not  happy when awake.

When I am talking about babies and sleep  remember  that we need to feel relaxed to go to sleep and when your baby is not feeling relaxed,  they feel “yukky”, they need you to help them feel better so they can go to sleep. When your baby has not had quality sleep for an extended period of time, it can be harder for him or her to go to sleep easily because of feeling yukky.

The solution is to build good quality sleep first and then work through any other challenges with sleep and your baby.  Sleep builds sleep and has a positive effect on your baby as a result.  For all of us, we are much happier and calmer when we are feeling relaxed and well rested.