Baby not sleeping? Here are the reasons and tips to cope with it

When your baby doesn’t nap after feeding, petting, and even singing them a song, you may start to think something is wrong.

Newborns need more sleep than adults for optimal growth and development. As a result, most babies sleep more during the day and lesser at night. This is called a day-night reversal, and it causes problems for many parents. Various factors can affect a baby’s sleep, and below are some of them.

1. Night feedings

If you don’t feed your newborn enough during the day, they’ll crave food at night and won’t want to sleep. To curb this, feed your baby enough during the day or in the evening so they won’t wake up at night.

2. Day-night reversal

Although babies tend to differentiate between day and night as they grow older, they don’t know the difference. As a result, they can sleep for several hours during the day and stay awake most of the night. You can help them know the difference by making a few changes to their schedule.

For example, don’t introduce sleep-inducing activities during the day like swaddling. Also, limit their daytime nap to four or five hours so they’ll be able to sleep at night. Another solution is letting sufficient light enter the baby’s room during the day and making it darker at night.

3. Teething

When your baby starts teething, it can be difficult for them to bear the pain, so they may let out the pain through constant crying at night. In this case, you may not be able to do much.

4. Changes in their sleep schedule

When your baby falls sick, their sleep schedule can change, and it’ll be hard for them to go back to normal after the illness. If any factor disrupts your baby’s schedule, start recreating the schedule from the beginning, and you’ll make it work.