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Thursday, December 27, 2018

Steps To Better Sleep For Babies And Children Part Three

As wonderful and organic as sleep is, it can be the origin of continual frustration for countless people. When the problem is with a child or a baby, the frustration can be magnified.


A child's body becomes less prone to sickness and better able to bounce back from injuries they might have sustained while active All these are essential to a growing child, and most especially for newborn babies. Babies sleep upward of about 15 hours. They are most in need of the restorative functions of sleep to ensure that they grow healthy and strong. It is important to make sure that they get adequate rest. This is to guarantee that their bodies and minds are in good condition when they are fully grown adults.

The 4 Stages of Sleep

The process of sleeping is as complex as the many benefits it possesses. In a single night, a person will have gone through four different stages of sleep. Those 4 stages are divided into two different kinds of sleep: non-REM and REM. REM stands for rapid eye movement. It is the deepest and most intense kind of sleep. This type of sleep is ideal and conducive to growth and obtaining both a sound body and mind. Scientists have linked a healthy amount of REM sleep to improved mental capabilities. This includes learning and memory retention. 

Although REM sleep might be the most beneficial, non-REM sleep also manages to boast nourishing benefits. In non-REM sleep, the body repairs lost tissue, bone, and muscle. The immune system is also strengthened during this time. The quality of sleep is crucial in improving a person's cognitive and mental capacities the following day. It is important for a parent to ensure that a child receives optimal sleep. This will encourage the child to perform at his or her peak while maintaining good health. 

To get a better understanding of how to achieve good quality sleep, it is important to know the different stages of sleep a person goes through every night.

Stage 1

To get an idea of the cycle and process of sleeping a person experiences to get REM sleep, it is important to start from the beginning. The first stage of sleeping is the transitioning from being awake to a light sleep. In this stage, the brain produces theta waves. These are slow, high amplitude brain waves. This early stage of sleeping is quite brief in duration, usually lasting around 5 to 10 minutes. 

It is quite easy to wake up someone when he/she is in this stage of sleeping and feels as if he/she is not really asleep. People are almost awake at this stage so you can expect them to respond to light stimuli such as door closing or lights turning on. It only takes a short while of this uninterrupted stage before a person can transition to the second stage of sleep.

Stage 2

The second stage takes up most of the average time spent asleep. This stage lasts about 20 minutes and is characterized by a decrease in body temperature and a slowed heart rate. Scientists also denote the appearance of sleep spindles in an EEG or electroencephalography recording. Sleep spindles are bursts of quick, rhythmic brain wave activity. This is a sign that the body is preparing itself to enter the stages of deep sleep. After a certain amount of time has elapsed, the body is ready to enter the early stages of this type of sleep. 

Stage 3

The third stage of sleep is usually the transitioning period between light sleep and deep sleep. A person in this stage will begin to enter delta sleep. So-called because it is when the brain begins to transmit deep, slow brain waves called delta waves. A person is less sensitive to noises and activity in the surrounding environment. It is more difficult to wake them up, as they are not as responsive as they were in the previous stages of sleep.

If a person were to wake someone up in this stage, he/she would often report feeling disoriented and confused. Some notable characteristics of this stage are the acts of bed wetting and sleepwalking. The stages of sleep that were just covered all fall under the category of non-REM sleep. 

Stage 4 (REM Sleep)

With the fourth and final stage, a person can finally enter REM sleep. There is a spike in a person's respiration rate and brain activity once he/she enters this stage. It is interesting to note that the brain and other internal functions of the body are more active during REM sleep. However, while the electrical activity in the body heightens at this stage, movement in the eye comes to a complete halt. A person's muscles are also more relaxed and often paralyzed.

REM sleep begins approximately 90 minutes since falling asleep. This stage itself occurs in cycles, with the first cycle only lasting a short while. The succeeding cycles become longer as the night advances. The entirety of the REM sleep process can take up to an hour as the person's sleep continues throughout the night. 

Join Us in Part 4 Where We Talk About The Sleep Process

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The remedies presented in this blog series are relevant to otherwise healthy children. If your son or daughter has any clinical or psychiatric conditions, please seek further assistance before using these techniques, methods described in the upcoming blogs. Be prepared to take control of this part of not only your life but your baby or child's life.

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