Help your baby sleep through the night by optimizing their sleep environment
You might feel like there’s a lot that is out of your control at this time. With this in mind, I wanted to write about something that is within your control — your child’s sleep environment.
Tweaking your child’s sleep environment (i.e., their room) is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your little one’s sleep. Here are three simple steps to optimize your child’s room for sleep.
Black it out
I recommend a room that is cave-like dark, right from the start. You should not be able to see your hand in front of your face. If your child’s room is letting in any light, it could affect their sleep. Children’s eyes are shaped differently than adults’, and thus are more sensitive to light. A dark room encourages the body’s production of melatonin, the hormone that helps us feel sleepy.
Keep the room cave-like dark for all naps and nighttime sleep by blacking out windows (heavy garbage bags, although not especially pretty, are a cheap way to darken the room).
Cover up any lights on machines, like video monitors, using black electrical tape.
Remove anything with lights — like toys or stuffies — as these could interfere with your child's sleep.
Some children will be more sensitive to light than others. Your child’s room might not be blacked out and they will still be able to sleep well. It’s important to remember that a dark sleep space will make for more restorative sleeps.
What about night lights?
Parents who are feeding in the night may like to have a night light in the room to help prevent stubbing their toes during those middle-of-the-night feeds. Children sometimes start asking for a bit of light in their room if they develop a fear of the dark. In both of these cases I recommend a red-hued night light placed below eye level. Avoid any lights that are white, yellow or blue.
Should it be dark for naps too?
Darkness sends the message to our brains that it is time for sleep. Our babies, and children as old as five, need naps to fulfill their sleep requirements. A dark room is going to help facilitate an easier descent into sleepiness, and a more restorative nap.
Dial the temperature down
Another thing you can control is temperature. Sleep likes a space that is comfortably cool. Between 18-21 degrees Celsius (64-69 degrees Fahrenheit) is ideal for most.
Consider how well you sleep on a hot summer night. Now consider how well you sleep on a cold evening in a tent without the necessary layers. We’re looking for a temperature that is somewhere in the middle, but on the cooler side.
Temperatures naturally drop in the evenings, and our brains receive instructions to begin cooling our bodies. When the body cools, it releases melatonin, which makes us sleepy. Our homes are now climate controlled, which can interfere with this natural cooling process. This is one of the reasons a warm bath for babies and children (or hot bath for teenagers and adults) before bed is recommended. The warm water draws blood to the surface of the skin, which is extremely efficient at venting, and away from the core. As the water evaporates it helps dissipate that heat, and your core body temperature cools much quicker versus not having a bath. This helps you fall asleep.
Having a cool room can improve your child’s sleep quality, reducing the time it takes to fall asleep and keeping them in a restorative sleep state for longer.
Babies and toddlers might benefit from a wearable blanket, also known as a sleep sack. They tend to move a lot in their sleep, so a sleep sack is something they can’t kick off. They also come in different weights for different seasons.
Safe sleep reminder:
Before the age of 12 months, a sleep space should be bare and boring with nothing in there except a fitted sheet and your baby. No blankets, stuffies, and the like.
A quiet[er] space
It’s common sense that a sleep space should be relatively quiet, but how quiet?
I’m reminded of a story my dad told me. When he was younger, before he was married and had kids, he moved into a place that was beside railway tracks. He thought he would never sleep again, but within 1-2 weeks, he got used to the sound and had no issues sleeping through the noise.
What I have discovered, with my own kids and with the families I have helped, is that kids can sleep through a lot. The crying or calling out of a sibling. Loud and unexpected sounds.
If you can, reduce loud and unexpected sounds while your child is sleeping, but don’t feel like you need to tiptoe around the house and whisper while they are trying to sleep. This is the trouble I got myself in when our oldest daughter was a baby. I avoided speaking too loudly, I never did the dishes when she was sleeping, I even tried to avoid flushing the toilet, as the bathroom was right next to her room. And to this day, 7.5 years later, I still avoid doing the dishes when she’s asleep (though my husband might argue there are other reasons I avoid doing the dishes in the evening).
“If you live on a loud street or in an apartment, or if you have a dog that barks when someone knocks on the door, you might want to invest in white noise.”
I advise being more cautious during naps, as sleep can be lighter and children can be more sensitive to sounds during the day. If you are concerned, if you live on a loud street or in an apartment, or if you have a dog that barks when someone knocks on the door for example, you might want to invest in white noise. It can help to dull the sounds that might otherwise wake your child during the lighter stages of sleep.
If you choose to use white noise, make sure it is pure white noise (think the sound of a fan) and that it runs constantly throughout the night and for all naps.
In our house we usually have a fan going in the summer most nights and a humidifier in the winter, which double as white noise.
Tell me about your child’s sleep environment. How do you manage noise and sounds in your home during sleep periods? Is your baby or child sensitive to temperature and light? Have you found that tweaking your child’s room has improved their sleep?