How does baby sleep?
Babies. They are soft, cute, little humans made of love. Infants take some time before they can sleep a full night. There are some aspects of baby sleep that do not carry over into adulthood.
The First Year is Important
During the first year, babies sleep a lot. Many changes occur in the development of both the brain and sleep. The relationship between the two is vital, the central nervous system controls sleep and the sleep-wake cycle. Brain plasticity, the ability of the infant brain to change structure and function based on environmental factors, is effected by the amount of sleep.
There is the saying that babies smile while they sleep because they are listening to the whispering of angels, but they are actually developing their sensorimotor skills.
Sleep Spindles and K-Complexes
Sleep spindles are defined as a fast oscillating section of the brain wave. K-complexes are defined by an initial brief positive deflection in the EEG signal followed by a slower, larger negative deflection and a final positive peak. These sleep characteristics play roles in the development of the the cerebral cortex and the processes of learning and memory and, emerge in the first few months of life.
Myoclonic Twitches
Muscle twitches, facial grimacing, smiling, and movements, that are seen while babies sleep, occur during REM. The saying was that babies smiled while they slept because they listened to the whispering of angels, but they are actually developing their sensorimotor skills. The dreaming and twitches, known as myoclonic twitches, indicate the development of both motor and cognitive skills.
Baby temperament
A baby’s temperament is determined from genetic characteristics that interact with the surrounding environment. Sleep characteristics of newborns have been used as predictors of later temperament. Generally it is seen that children that sleep less during the night or day, generally have difficult temperaments and those who sleep more have easy temperaments.
Sleep Environment
It’s important to provide an environment for sleep for your infant, and sometimes this can be to a sleep disadvantage to the parents. A baby may need to be rocked to sleep or to sleep in the same room as the parents in order to sleep soundly. That’s part of the difficulty of having a newborn, when it comes to baby sleep, some have problems and others not so much.
If you have issues with getting your baby to sleep soundly and you feel it may be due to a sleep disorder, speak to your pediatrician.
If you think you have a sleep disorder, or are experiencing any difficulty with getting to sleep, staying asleep, staying awake during the day, or have any other sleep related questions, feel free to contact Clinique Somnomed by clicking the link below.
We provide quick and convenient sleep testing in your home, in and around the greater Montreal area. We test patients every year for sleep disorders both common and rare.