You may know that sleep coaching works with your baby’s
natural, biological processes to teach your baby how to fall asleep faster and
stay asleep longer, but what are those natural, biological processes? What’s
happening inside and behind the scenes of your baby when they’re learning to
and mastering sleep?
IN THIS ARTICLE:
To help you make sense of it, here’s a brief rundown of
the science of your baby’s sleep and how sleep coaching effectively and safely
guides it.
And for more information on all things sleep-related –
from why nap transitions are important to how to prevent early wakeups – check
out the
Smart Sleep Coach by Pampers™. Co-developed
with pediatricians, sleep experts, and parents this easy-to-use app provides
all the information, guidance, and, yes, relaxation you need to sleep coach
quickly and effectively.
On Wake Windows and Sleepy Cues
First, the definitions of two sleep coaching terms that
dovetail with the science… These will be referenced below and become very
important when sleep training.
Wake Window: The amount of time your baby is awake
between sleeps.
Sleepy Cues: Physical actions or behaviors
exhibited by a tired baby who’s reaching the end of their wake window.
- Yawning
- Glazed eyes or avoiding eye contact
- Rubbing their eyes.
- Pulling their ears
- Cranky
Watching for these is very important when sleep coaching
because they tell you a wake window is closing. If you stay up much later, the
wakeup hormones begin to circulate,
leading to overtiredness.
Circadian Rhythm
One of the reasons to wait until 4 months to begin sleep
coaching is because that’s when your baby’s circadian rhythm starts to mature.
The circadian rhythm is our internal clock that regulates
our sleep, telling us when to wake and rest, over a 24-hour period. We all have
them – babies, adults, even animals – and it’s largely controlled by daylight.
Newborns and very small babies are still developing this
rhythm, which is why their sleep is very disorganized.
Once their circadian rhythm begins to solidify, between
12 and 16 weeks, you’ll notice your baby forms distinct wake windows and
exhibits sleep cues when ready to rest. Sleep coaching works with those natural
cues to shape your baby’s sleep, teaching them when it’s best to sleep and how
to fall asleep on their own.
Hormonal Happenings
The circadian rhythm is regulated by four hormones that
are released and suppressed over the course of a 24-hour cycle. Sleep coaching
aligns nap and bedtimes with this natural cycle, so your baby falls asleep
faster and stays asleep longer – and the Smart Sleep Coach makes it easy.
Here we define the hormones and then explain how they all
interact, and how your sleep coaching aligns with these natural chemicals.
Adenosine: A “sleep drive hormone,” adenosine is
slowly released as soon as your baby wakes up. Once the adenosine reaches a
certain level, your baby’s body begins producing melatonin, which we explain
below.
One thing to know, babies’ and toddlers’ adenosine builds
up faster than an older child or adult. That’s why they nap so often – to
“reset” their sleep tank
.
It helps to think of it this way, when you wake up you’re
like an inflated balloon that slowly deflates and is empty when it’s time for
your next sleep.
Melatonin: Melatonin is a natural “sleepy”
hormone that helps babies, and adults, fall asleep and rest well. As explained
above, melatonin is released once adenosine reaches its upper level. This
triggers them to get sleepy, which is when they exhibit sleepy cues like the
ones mentioned above.
Cortisol: A “wake up” hormone released after
adenosine is depleted. It signals the mind and body to rise and shine. If you
miss your baby’s wake window, they’ll produce cortisol that wakes them up, leading
to overtiredness.
Daylight and screens also stimulate cortisol production,
which is why we recommend blackout curtains for your baby’s sleep space.
Serotonin: Another “wake up” hormone released
when <name> is ready to wake up. As with cortisol, serotonin will be
released if your baby stays up past their wake window. Also, like cortisol,
it’s influenced by daylight – another reason why blackout curtains are so
important when setting up your baby’s sleep space.
How the Hormones All Work:
When your baby wakes up, they produce adenosine. As
adenosine builds up, your baby grows tired. This is called the homeostatic
sleep drive.
When adenosine reaches a certain level, melatonin is
released. This leads to drowsiness and sleepy cues. This is your golden
opportunity to put your baby down to sleep.
By putting them down at the end of their natural wake
window, we’re matching their natural biological rhythm which is the optimal
sleep schedule.
Once your baby is asleep, the built-up adenosine recedes.
When it hits its lowest level, it activates the production of cortisol and
serotonin, the wake-up hormones.
Remember, daylight will also activate those hormones,
which is why blackout curtains are so important in your baby’s sleep space.
Cortisol and serotonin will also be released if your baby
stays up beyond their wake window, throwing them off sync, leading to
overtiredness – and, trust me, that is the last thing you want in a baby.
How Sleep Coaching Works
Sleep Coaching takes a holistic approach to fine tune the
three core sleep levers, the biological sleep rhythm, sleep environment and
sleep behavior.
- Biological
Sleep Rhythm
: By working with your baby’s natural homeostatic cycle,
we align
nap and bedtimes to their sleepy waves. By catching
your baby when they’re ready to sleep they will fall asleep faster and stay
asleep longer.
- Sleep
Environment
: Where your baby sleeps is almost as important as when
they sleep. Creating a sleep inducing environment for every sleep helps deliver
positive sleep associations for your baby. Imagine yourself trying to sleep
sitting up in a bright room? It would be much easier lying down in a dark room.
The same goes for your baby.
- Sleep behavior: If you pat or
rock or feed your baby to sleep, they will think they need that in order to
fall asleep. In reality they can and will fall asleep without it, and since the
act of falling asleep is a learned skill, you want to give your baby space and
time to practice doing this themselves.
While They Were Sleeping:
Now that we’ve discussed the internal and biological
functions behind sleep, let’s take a deeper dive into what’s happening inside
your baby’s mind while they sleep.
You may have heard of REM sleep – “Rapid Eye Movement”
sleep, but there’s also something called NREM sleep – non-REM sleep.
These two types of sleep work in tandem to help your baby
rest and grow.
- NREM sleep is a deep, restorative sleep that helps write to long-term
memory
- REM is a more active sleep that helps build learning and cognitive
skills.
While your baby experiences both during a nighttime
cycle, these sleeps’ concentrations or intensities are different at different
times of day: There's more NREM sleep from 7pm-midnight and more REM from
midnight on. That’s why early bedtimes matter - you want to ensure your baby is
getting both types of sleep, REM and NREM.
NREM sleep appears earlier in the sleep cycle, which is
why naps are also important.
An Infants’ Sleep Cycles
This is how an ideal night’s sleep cycle looks for
infants.
Stage One: A transitionary period of non-REM
sleep that’s lighter. During this stage your baby has just fallen asleep -
maybe even still opening their eyes a bit - and it’s easier to wake them.
Stage Two: A slightly deeper though still light
REM sleep during which your baby is easily awoken.
Stage Three: Though this is still REM sleep, it’s
deeper than the previous two. During this time your baby’s harder to wake and
motionless.
Stage Four: Deep non-REM sleep - when your baby is
dreaming and possibly moving their arms, legs, or face. This stage usually
happens in the first few hours of nighttime sleep before your baby returns to
the earlier stages, which is why your baby may wake up earlier than usual from
time to time. It’s rarer that your baby will reach stage 4 during a nap.
Now that you understand
how sleep training works with your baby’s natural sleep powers, download the Smart Sleep Coach by Pampers™ to get step by step sleep coaching
support from this game changing app!. In addition to bite-sized articles
explaining even more about your baby’s sleep, the sleep tracking feature
automatically updates your baby’s sleep schedule and its exclusive algorithm
customizes sleep coaching approaches based on your baby’s
unique sleep habits – all so your baby
can sleep well today for a healthier, better rested tomorrow.