Teaching your baby’s healthy sleep habits is the quickest and most important thing new parents can do to help their children grow into healthy, successful adults, says Dr. Daniel Golszewski.
Known as “sleep hygiene,” these habits, known as “sleep hygiene,” are Australia-based pediatrician and bestselling author of “Your Baby Doesn’t Have a Book,” and these habits, known as “sleep hygiene,” help you get the deep and consistent sleep you need for healthy physical, mental and emotional development.
“You can change your sleep habits at any age,” says Golshevsky, who travels through “Dr. Golly” on social media. “But without a doubt, the easiest time to change your sleep habits… to set the foundations from the newborn (stage), where sleep hygiene and preparation become important.”
Help us help: do our research on work, money and life goals
Healthy sleep habits are associated with the baby’s cognitive development and mental health and the ability of older children to learn, concentrate and regulate emotions.
Adults who have problems with sleep or do not maintain healthy sleep habits often can bring these issues back to the first few months of their lives, says Golshevkie. “Most of the time, it starts in childhood,” he says.
New parents are as emphasizing their baby’s sleep schedule and their lack of sleep, as they help newborns learn healthy habits. In his book, he proposes several sleep hygiene techniques:
Avoid “absolute” silence and tranquility
Your baby recently spent nine months in a dark, warm place filled with rhythmic, low-frequency sounds of a mother’s heartbeat. To recreate that environment, you can include placing your baby in a warm, dark space, wrapping in a swaddy “designed to wrap in a tight embrace,” and using a white noise machine, says Golshevsky.
If your baby is struggling to settle, you can slowly walk around the room and gently tap on the back. “It’s really important to move around because babies aren’t used to absolute silence and they’re not used to being stationary,” says Golshevsky.
If possible, involve both parents
When a baby is crying rather than sleeping, breastfeeding parents may respond by trying to feed them as hormones are running through their bodies, Golshevsky says. But it is not necessarily the best approach, especially if the baby’s stomach is already full.
Instead, Golshevksy recommends non-breastfeed caretakers responsible for the post-feeding precipitation process. They are likely to try other methods beyond additional feeding, and babies are not distracted by getting closer to a “food source,” he says.
“If the baby wakes up and it’s not planned for a feed, dad will be able to solve the baby again and pass that mental checklist,” says Golshevsky. “And with her earplugs, Mum should be sleeping through it.”
Make sure your baby is well raised and burping
When your belly is full, your baby can go to sleep more easily, but when food creates gas trapped in the system, the discomfort can be too early, says Golshevsky. Try burning them or using another technique to release the gas and avoid those sleep disorders, he recommends.
Create routines but become flexible
Staying on your routine can help you create and maintain healthy sleep habits, says Golshevksy. However, babies are not always predictable. You may fall asleep every 3-4 hours. One day, they wake up just an hour later.
If that happens, don’t panic. Instead, look at the mental checklist and decide what awakened them, Golshevsky: Are they cold? Gassy? Do they have dirty diapers?
“A stiff routine (actually) is a source of great stress,” says Golszewski. “It’s like a rope around your neck (if your baby is not doing this routine… you start to doubt yourself. And when you doubt yourself, your baby drinks it, and then they become more anxious (by your stress).”
Understand what works for you and your child and adjust your approach to discovery, he advises: Doing so will help you set them up for sounds that benefit them as children and adults.
“That’s the key here, so that you can eat the old saying of teaching guys to fish for the rest of your life,” says Golshevsky. “You have to learn to interpret baby cues, find ways to calm your baby down.
Do you want to stand out, grow your network and get more employment opportunities? How to sign up for CNBC’s Smarter to build a standout personal brand online, online, in-person, in the workplace. Learn how to showcase your skills, build a great reputation, and create a digital presence that AI can’t replicate.
Additionally, we request that you sign up for CNBC to connect with experts and peers in our newsletter, money, and life to get tips and tricks for success in the workplace.
