How to Ensure a Peaceful Sleep for Newborns in the Summer
How to Ensure a Peaceful Sleep for Newborns in the Summer
Summer can be quite hot, and due to longer daylight hours, some children may have trouble falling asleep or go to bed late. This can lead to grogginess, loss of appetite, and hindered learning the following day. Over time, it can even affect their normal growth, development, and cognitive functions. Getting enough sleep in the summer is crucial to keep children energetic, with a hearty appetite and robust health.
So, how can you ensure that your child sleeps well during the hot summer months?
What's the Right Bedding for Summer?
A thin towel blanket is recommended. Remember not to let your child sleep completely naked due to the heat. Sleeping naked can expose the child's abdomen, and the smooth muscles of the child's gastrointestinal tract are sensitive to temperature changes. Cold stimuli below body temperature can cause muscle contractions, leading to spasms, especially around the belly button area. This can result in recurrent abdominal pain, mainly around the belly button, and may even lead to diarrhea. Even in hot weather, it's advisable to cover your child with a thin layer of clothing, with a particular focus on keeping the abdominal area warm.
Can Young Children Use Bamboo Mats (Liangxi)?
Bamboo mats are comfortable in high summer temperatures, but they have drawbacks. Infants and young children have weaker immune systems, and using bamboo mats can lead to colds, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. Additionally, low-quality bamboo mats may harbor insects or parasite eggs, and direct contact with them can cause skin allergies, rashes, or skin diseases in children. In severe cases, it could lead to conditions like asthma.
Avoid Keeping the Air Conditioning On Overnight
Choose a room for your child with good natural ventilation and light. Avoid placing the bed directly under a window. Opt for a location with indirect sunlight. It's best to cool the room using natural ventilation. If you use air conditioning, set it to around 27-28°C, which is 5-6°C lower than the outdoor temperature. Don't keep the air conditioning running continuously, especially through the night. You can use an electric fan as an alternative, but place it farther from your child and direct it toward a wall rather than directly at your child.
Prevent Mosquito Bites
To ensure a peaceful sleep for your baby during the summer, you can use a breathable mosquito net over their crib. Alternatively, you can use mosquito repellent devices, but make sure they are not too close to your baby. You can also apply a suitable amount of mosquito repellent on your baby's skin. Before bedtime, you can add a few drops of herbal mosquito repellent to your baby's bathwater, leaving a pleasant scent on their skin after the bath, which also has some mosquito-repelling effects.
A Pre-Bedtime Bath Can Improve Sleep
A baby's skin is delicate, and they excrete sweat and urine quite a bit. Bathing your baby before bedtime can help them feel fresh and clean, significantly improving the quality of their sleep. Here are some tips for bathing your baby in the hot season:
The water temperature should be around 33-34°C, and you generally don't need bath products because babies in summer may need to bathe 2-3 times a day. It's not necessary to use bath products each time to avoid irritating your baby's skin.
The order for bathing your baby is: head, body, limbs, and anal area.
Pay attention to cleaning skin folds in areas like the neck, armpits, and abdominal creases.
Be gentle and swift when bathing your baby, and the bath should not exceed 10 minutes.
Avoid feeding your baby half an hour before bathing.
How to Manage Your Baby's Sleep Time?
Most of a newborn's time is spent sleeping, accumulating about 18-22 hours of sleep a day. As your baby grows, their sleep time gradually decreases. Babies aged 2-5 months typically sleep for 15-18 hours a day, while those aged 6-12 months sleep for about 14-16 hours a day.
The amount of sleep varies from person to person: Currently, sleep reference values for babies are established abroad, and domestic reference values for sleep time have not been set in China. According to a 2006 survey of children's sleep in China, due to regional differences, the average sleep time for Chinese children is two hours less than in foreign countries. Therefore, even if your baby's sleep time does not match international reference values, it generally does not affect their health as long as there are no unusual symptoms.
Extended cuddling can lengthen your baby's sleep time: If parents want their baby to sleep more, they can extend the time they cuddle their baby. This is because sleep consists of light and deep sleep stages. Generally, young children have short periods of deep sleep, but as they grow older, the duration of deep sleep increases. Some babies fall asleep in their parents' arms, but parents may mistakenly believe the baby is asleep, and when they place the baby in their crib, the baby quickly awakens. This is because the baby has not yet entered deep sleep. Therefore, parents can cuddle their baby for a while longer, allowing the baby to enter a state of deep sleep before placing them in the crib.
Summer can be quite hot, and due to longer daylight hours, some children may have trouble falling asleep or go to bed late. This can lead to grogginess, loss of appetite, and hindered learning the following day. Over time, it can even affect their normal growth, development, and cognitive functions. Getting enough sleep in the summer is crucial to keep children energetic, with a hearty appetite and robust health.
So, how can you ensure that your child sleeps well during the hot summer months?
What's the Right Bedding for Summer?
A thin towel blanket is recommended. Remember not to let your child sleep completely naked due to the heat. Sleeping naked can expose the child's abdomen, and the smooth muscles of the child's gastrointestinal tract are sensitive to temperature changes. Cold stimuli below body temperature can cause muscle contractions, leading to spasms, especially around the belly button area. This can result in recurrent abdominal pain, mainly around the belly button, and may even lead to diarrhea. Even in hot weather, it's advisable to cover your child with a thin layer of clothing, with a particular focus on keeping the abdominal area warm.
Can Young Children Use Bamboo Mats (Liangxi)?
Bamboo mats are comfortable in high summer temperatures, but they have drawbacks. Infants and young children have weaker immune systems, and using bamboo mats can lead to colds, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. Additionally, low-quality bamboo mats may harbor insects or parasite eggs, and direct contact with them can cause skin allergies, rashes, or skin diseases in children. In severe cases, it could lead to conditions like asthma.
Avoid Keeping the Air Conditioning On Overnight
Choose a room for your child with good natural ventilation and light. Avoid placing the bed directly under a window. Opt for a location with indirect sunlight. It's best to cool the room using natural ventilation. If you use air conditioning, set it to around 27-28°C, which is 5-6°C lower than the outdoor temperature. Don't keep the air conditioning running continuously, especially through the night. You can use an electric fan as an alternative, but place it farther from your child and direct it toward a wall rather than directly at your child.
Prevent Mosquito Bites
To ensure a peaceful sleep for your baby during the summer, you can use a breathable mosquito net over their crib. Alternatively, you can use mosquito repellent devices, but make sure they are not too close to your baby. You can also apply a suitable amount of mosquito repellent on your baby's skin. Before bedtime, you can add a few drops of herbal mosquito repellent to your baby's bathwater, leaving a pleasant scent on their skin after the bath, which also has some mosquito-repelling effects.
A Pre-Bedtime Bath Can Improve Sleep
A baby's skin is delicate, and they excrete sweat and urine quite a bit. Bathing your baby before bedtime can help them feel fresh and clean, significantly improving the quality of their sleep. Here are some tips for bathing your baby in the hot season:
The water temperature should be around 33-34°C, and you generally don't need bath products because babies in summer may need to bathe 2-3 times a day. It's not necessary to use bath products each time to avoid irritating your baby's skin.
The order for bathing your baby is: head, body, limbs, and anal area.
Pay attention to cleaning skin folds in areas like the neck, armpits, and abdominal creases.
Be gentle and swift when bathing your baby, and the bath should not exceed 10 minutes.
Avoid feeding your baby half an hour before bathing.
How to Manage Your Baby's Sleep Time?
Most of a newborn's time is spent sleeping, accumulating about 18-22 hours of sleep a day. As your baby grows, their sleep time gradually decreases. Babies aged 2-5 months typically sleep for 15-18 hours a day, while those aged 6-12 months sleep for about 14-16 hours a day.
The amount of sleep varies from person to person: Currently, sleep reference values for babies are established abroad, and domestic reference values for sleep time have not been set in China. According to a 2006 survey of children's sleep in China, due to regional differences, the average sleep time for Chinese children is two hours less than in foreign countries. Therefore, even if your baby's sleep time does not match international reference values, it generally does not affect their health as long as there are no unusual symptoms.
Extended cuddling can lengthen your baby's sleep time: If parents want their baby to sleep more, they can extend the time they cuddle their baby. This is because sleep consists of light and deep sleep stages. Generally, young children have short periods of deep sleep, but as they grow older, the duration of deep sleep increases. Some babies fall asleep in their parents' arms, but parents may mistakenly believe the baby is asleep, and when they place the baby in their crib, the baby quickly awakens. This is because the baby has not yet entered deep sleep. Therefore, parents can cuddle their baby for a while longer, allowing the baby to enter a state of deep sleep before placing them in the crib.
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