How to support sleep regression in babies?

The term “sleep regression” is nothing official but you may have heard it before. Sleep regression is a sudden deterioration in sleep which is manifested by fairly frequent awakenings during the night, naps that become more complicated, or difficulty falling asleep. Most often, it is linked to the acquisition of a skill, on the psychomotor level (sitting position, four legs, walking, etc.) or cognitive (first words for example).

These phases of development mobilize the brain of babies and children enormously, which then need many resources. which sometimes degrades the quality of sleep and causes these agitations at night. Nadège Pétrel, childcare nurse and author of the book “50 keys to help a child who does not want to sleep “(Eyrolles), shares his advice with us.

Sleep regression: how long does it last?

“It depends a lot”, says the nurse. “This period can disappear as suddenly as it appeared or it can last for several weeks..” Not all babies are affected by sleep regression and among those who will experience this period, the duration is very random.

At what age do these periods appear?

As said before, the periods of sleep regression in the baby will appear as it acquires. “The first steps, language, starting school, moving,… Many factors can cause sleep regression phases”, explains Nadège Pétrel.

Nevertheless, 5 frequent regressions can be identified:

Your baby changes his passing sleep cycles of 2 phases (restless sleep – calm sleep) 4-phase (very light sleep – light sleep – deep sleep – REM sleep). In addition, your child becomes aware of the bond that unites him to his parents and finds it difficult to separate.

This period is marked by the beginning of autonomy in the movements of your baby (flat back and flat stomach, sitting position,…). Thus, the latter will spontaneously want to move, develop and experiment rather than sleep.

It’s time for speech and personality development but it is also the period when separation anxiety from parents is at its peak. At bedtime or during a nap, the separation can become complicated.

This is the age when your child begins to be more and more social and to himself really build your personality, with the “no” period. He understands that he can make his choices, make his parents react and exercise his “power”. These new changes can then be disruptive factors for the child’s sleep but also for the family balance.

And as you can see, there may be resurgences. “Baby sleep is never guaranteed”, emphasizes Nadège Pétrel. She adds : “And finally, it’s not just about your child. In life in general, there are always factors that can disrupt an individual’s sleep and lead to waking up at night, whether it’s acquisitions in your baby, the arrival of a competition for your teenager, a problem working for you…”. The emotional sphere plays an essential role because the child relives part of his day at night while sorting through his emotions.

How do you know it’s just sleep regression?

“First, I always ask lots of questions to parents because they are in the best position to know how their baby behaves in normal times.”, explains the nurse. “The care is global because everything must be swept away and all other causes eliminated so as not to miss a disease..” Eventually, sleep regression is default diagnosis. Knowing the baby’s habits, knowing if there has been any change,… This is essential because less disturbance in the environment may be involved.

How to manage/avoid these phases of sleep regression?

These are not “avoidable” periods in themselves because they are part of your child’s development. On the other hand, to help your baby, you can maximize his comfort by maintaining a comforting atmosphere at bedtime and by making his room an environment where he will feel safe. “In the case of sleep regression without an underlying cause, know that it happens and is even common.”, reassures us the nurse. She adds : “Do not hesitate to keep your habits, keep your rituals.” Must therefore maintain the points of reference and the rhythm that the child knows so that he does not feel disturbed.

Even if you can’t stand the crying when it comes to getting into bed and the surprise awakenings in the middle of the night, do not panic and don’t tell yourself that everything is ruined if a sleep job had been set up before. What the author emphasizes is that we must above all remember that this phase has a beginning and above all an end. “Parents need to be blamed for thinking they are doing something wrong.”, she adds. You can take turns when you wake up and if the situation becomes too complicated, do not hesitate to consult.

Finally, if we have to remember something, it’s that your baby’s sleep regression periods are physiological and transient. And as Nadège Pétrel says: “Remember we can help our child feel good but we have no magic power to put him to sleep.”