Sleep and Development
Newborn sleep is precious to you and very beneficial to your baby. Research has shown that when your baby is sleeping, your baby is growing physically and developing mentally. During sleep, particularly during light sleep, your baby’s brain is growing in size, as well as developing in areas of memory and learning. Since your newborn’s brain will nearly double in size during the first year of life, as you would expect, your newborn will sleep a lot to accommodate this brain growth activity. Baby sleep is designed this way for your newborn’s healthy development.
When your baby is sleeping, about half the time is spent in light sleep (REM) and the other half in deeper sleep (Non-REM). In light sleep your baby can easily be awakened by uncomfortable sensations such as hunger, cold, or lack of oxygen (perhaps from a stuffy nose). Waking in response to a need for food, warmth, or more oxygen is extremely important to maintain your newborn's health. Scientists believe that baby sleep (lots of light sleep allowing your baby to wake easily) is designed this way for your baby’s survival. Thank you! in advance Mother Nature, because it may be hard to remember to be thankful in the middle of a sleepless night.
Peace of Mind and GratitudeUnderstanding this perfect design of baby sleep gives you peace of mind, and allows you to be thankful in the wee hours of the morning when your newborn is awake, yet again.
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For more information to give you peace of mind, check out Newborn Baby Manual for your iPad or your Kindle.
For you and yours,