Why do baby sleep a lot

Why do Newborn sleep so much? Benefits And Reasons

Why do baby sleep a lot

We all want our Newborn babies to sleep because as we are new parents, sometimes we are more tired while taking care of them. At that time, we need some rest.

why Do Newborns Sleep So Much?

Newborns sleep so much because they have to; they don’t have a choice. Their bodies are still developing, and it’s not just their brains that need that much rest. They get at least 12 hours of sleep per day to take care of all their bodily needs. It is estimated that newborn babies will sleep between 16-18 hours in the first few weeks, which means they’ll be getting 4 or 5 hours less by the time six months have passed. Over the first year, the average sleep time will rise slightly to only 17 hours a day, but babies still need approximately 11-12 hours of shut-eye daily.

As a mother, you’ve probably wondered why they sleep so much?. How can they sleep that much? They don’t even have an engine in their car! What makes them sleep so much? After all, they shouldn’t be tired at all! And yet, it’s true — your newborn will nap more than any other child (except cradle babies — but those aren’t really babies) during the first few months of life. Read on to learn about the reasons for newborns sleeping so much, as well as how much they should actually be sleeping when you’re around!

Usually, newborns sleep for 8 to 9 hours in the morning and about 8 hours at night. But they may not sleep continue means they do not sleep more than 2 hours at a time. They wake after every 1 to 2 hours for feeding or other reasons. Most babies wake up more at night that is 6 to 8 hours until they are 3 months old or their weight of 12 to 13 pounds. In other words, we can say that the baby younger than seven months may sleep up to 19 hours, but they wake up again and again. According to health specialists and pediatricians, newborn babies wake up depending on their need for rest. Even though they have a small stomach, they generally wake up every three to four hours for feeding in the first few weeks.  

As a new parent, you have seen the sleeping schedule of your newborn is very longer than you. It is very normal that you get worried about their sleep pattern being a new parent.

Keep one thing in mind always that don’t compare your baby and your best friend’s baby, every baby has its own sleeping pattern. All babies are different and all have different habits. In other words, we can say the sleep needs of every baby vary depending on their age. As compared to adults, babies have different sleep cycles.

 Here, in short, we will see the sleep duration of babies from newborn to older babies according to their ages.

0-6 Weeks – Total hours of sleep of a newborn baby is 15 to 18 hours. Daytime sleep duration is 15 minutes to 3 hours (3-5 naps) and nighttime sleep duration is 2-4 hours.

6-15 Weeks – Total hours of sleep of a newborn baby in these weeks is 14 to 16 hours. Daytime sleep duration is 30 minutes to 3 hours (3-4 naps) and nighttime sleep duration is 3-6 hours.

4-6 Months – Total hours of sleep of a baby in these months is 12 to 15 hours. Daytime sleep duration is  1 to 3 hours (3 naps) and nighttime sleep duration is 6-8 hours.

6-8 Months – Total hours of sleep of a newborn baby in these months is the same as above 12 to 15 hours. Daytime sleep duration is 1 to 3 hours (2-3 naps) and nighttime sleep duration is 9-12 hours.

8-10 Months – Total hours of sleep of a newborn baby in these months is 11 to 15 hours. Daytime sleep duration is 1 to 2 hours (1-2 naps) and nighttime sleep duration is 10-12 hours.

10-12 Months – Total hours of sleep of a newborn baby in these months is 14 to 16 hours. As above daytime sleep duration and nighttime sleep duration are the same is the 1 to 2 hours (1-2 naps) in the daytime and 10-12 hours in the nighttime.

Benefits of Sleeping For Babies:

Let us see several benefits of sleeping for babies.

1. Sleep Promotes Growth:

Sleep is also as essential as proper nutrition to support the brain development of your baby. A Canadian researcher found that babies who sleep more have better function and skills such as the ability to pay attention and many more.

2. Sleep Assists the Heart:

Sleep protects the babies from vascular damage because of circulating stress hormones and the arterial wall is learned and researched by the health experts.

3. Sleep Affects Weight:

There is a nearby relationship between sleep and weight. How? that we will discuss this here. According to the researchers, newborn babies and toddlers who slept under 12 hours daily were over two times as prone to be overweight by age 3.

4. Sleep Helps Beat Germs:

Babies also produce the proteins known as cytokines during sleep. These proteins help to fight infection, illness, and stress.

7 Reasons Why Newborn Sleep A Lot

Let us discuss some common reasons why our babies sleep more – Keep reading for more details.

1. Due to Growth Spurts:

Generally, growth spurts are the first number reason During sleeping, the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is produced in the brain of an infant. consequently, they may be having a growth spurt, if the baby takes frequent naps during the daytime and sleeps for longer at night-time.

2. Due to Illness:

Babies who sleep constantly, may not feel well, they may be ill. The baby feels lousy and extra sleepy due to illness. Drowsiness and sluggishness are signs also seen while they are ill. Due to discomfort, babies may wake more than usual at night and wake early from naps too. due to that, your baby shows less interest in feeding. Though, your baby requires more sleep when he or she is sick. To fight against illness, their body requires a lot of additional rest.

3. Due to Low Blood Sugar:

Low blood sugar is also known as ‘Hypoglycemia’. We all know that this Hypoglycemia’ can cause by sleep psleep problems. Newborn babies or infants have low blood sugar and lack energy who sleeps for a long period of time. They may also suffer from difficulty waking up for feedings.

4. Due to Jaundice:

During jaundice, bilirubin levels increase due to high bilirubin babies may become more lazy, sleepy, and tired, and also may show less interest in eating or feeding.

5. Due to Infection:

The next common reason is an infection. If you have noticed, that he or she suffering from a fever, cough, sleeps more, and doesn’t eat then definitely your baby may have contracted an infection.

6. Due to Insufficient milk:

Your baby may get insufficient milk if he or she takes too little or too much time to latch on.

7. Due to Vaccination:

We all know that some vaccine has mild side effects on babies. Doctors say that after vaccination your baby will sleep a long time, they also say don’t take it seriously or not to worry. The mild side effects include drowsiness and lethargy, which may last for one or two days only.

You May Also Read:

How Long Should You Breastfeed?

Why My Baby Is Crying?

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