How Infants Sleep
March 16, 2009
New parents can attest to the fact that infants have erratic sleep patterns. They can sleep at all hours of the day and lie awake at all hours of the night. No two days have the same sleep pattern. Infants need much more sleep than older children and adults. Infants aged three months get about twice the amount of sleep that their parents do. Not to mention that the majority of infants sleep occurs during the day.
Infants usually sleep about two-to-three hours at a time and they need to wake up to be fed. From infancy to about three months of age, the infant will spend more time asleep during the day than they do at night. This is the complete opposite of how the parent sleeps. Babies sleep patterns vary from child-to-child. Most babies sleep in about two hour spurts during the day and in about four hour intervals during the night. It is most definitely not conducive to an adult getting adequate sleep.
Just like adults, babies pass through different phases during their sleep. From the time we fall asleep to the time we wake up; our bodies go through different levels of sleep. We start off feeling drowsy. That signals us to lie down. As we drift off to sleep we enter a light sleep pattern.
From there we enter a dream stage where our minds remain unconsciously active. Once we pass out of our dream state, we enter deep sleep. As we sleep through the night and come to wake in the morning, our bodies traverse the sleep pattern in reverse. From a deep sleep we move backwards into a dream state. Once we leave the dream state we enter a light sleep where our minds awaken to a state of drowsiness.
Babies follow these same sleep patterns though they travel through each of them at a faster rate than adults because their sleep cycles are so short. As a baby dreams, their eyes move about underneath closed eyelids. This stage is known as Random Eye Movement or REM. The body remains motionless aside from the occasional twitch or interruption in breathing.
When the baby is in deep sleep, they are sleeping soundly. Here the baby’s body does not move and their breathing becomes regular. During deep sleep basic the body is still except for little sucking motions from their mouth. These motions can startle the baby and cause them to jerk suddenly. These sudden movements are known as hypnagogic startles and are common in babies.
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