How to Identify Whether Your Baby Is Getting Deep Sleep Every Night and What You Can Do to Ensure They Are?

We know you stand and watch your little angel sleep peacefully more often than not, admiring their cute face and wondering if he’s dreaming every time he smiles or twitches.

Watch carefully, you’ll notice in about an hour, he begins to squirm or his eyelids flutter, or you may notice his muscles tighten. This is your baby entering a phase of light sleep.

As parents, we know that deep sleep is essential for a baby’s growth and development, and we’re always wondering if they’re sleeping well and enough and what we can do to ensure they have disturbance-free, comfortable sleep.

Let’s first understand the stages of your baby’s sleep cycle, how their sleep cycle differs from the adult sleep cycle and what can get in the way of your little one getting enough of it.

Your Baby Has a Shorter Sleep Cycle Than You

While adult sleep cycles last an average of 90 minutes, baby sleep cycles last 50-60 minutes. Much like adults, babies, too, have different stages of sleep. Let’s look at what these are to understand your baby’s sleep patterns better.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep)

This is the stage of light sleep where dreams occur and eyes move back and forth rapidly. Half of your baby’s sleep falls into this stage. As babies grow, the REM stage of sleep gets lesser. You will also notice your baby startle or wake up with disturbances during this sleep stage.

Non-REM sleep

There are 3 stages here:

• Stage 1: Drowsiness— eyes may droop or open and close
• Stage 2: light sleep— your baby may move or get startled with sounds
• Stage 3: deep sleep— your baby does not move or get disturbed

Your baby goes from stage 1 of sleep and moves into 2, 3 and then goes back to 2 and finally to REM before waking up. These cycles occur several times during sleep time and babies may wake up in between sleep cycles and have trouble going back to sleep. Now, that is what you don’t want.

We asked Paediatrician Dr. Rajiv Chabbra how parents can recognise whether their babies are getting deep sleep and what we can do to ensure it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRlsC5_PV7U&ab_channel=MamyPokoIndia

Now that we understand the science behind your baby’s sleep, let’s look at what can get in the way of your little one staying longer in stage 3 of their sleep cycle.

What Are the Reasons Behind a Baby’s Restless Sleep?

There could be many factors, environmental or physical, that could hinder their deep sleep, such as:

• Babies may wake up because of a soggy diaper that could be irritating them.
• Babies may not be able to settle themselves to sleep when they are tired or overstimulated.
• Little ones may also have trouble sleeping due to issues like gas or constipation.
• Sometimes, it can be hard to adapt to the changes in the environment like a running fan, noises in the background, or even a slight drop in the temperature.

Ultimately, it all comes down to the environment you are creating for the baby to rest in and the resources deployed for ensuring deep sleep, like proper feed and premium-quality diapers. Yes, the right (or wrong) diaper, too, has a direct impact on your baby’s sleep quality.

The right diaper is a modern-day saviour for parents, so they also get the sleep they deserve without having to factor in a mid-sleep diaper change, that both baby and parent could do without! Now, even if the baby pees in the middle of the night, a diaper with a deep absorbent feature will soak all the urine without getting soggy and help your baby to have a peaceful sleep.

As Dr. Chhabra suggested, deep absorbent diapers like the MamyPoko Pants Extra Absorb diapers aid uninterrupted deep sleep, all thanks to the deep absorption feature of the additional third layer, which absorbs the urine for up to 12 hours without becoming soggy.

Additionally, with the ‘Innovative Flexi Fit’, these diapers are flexible enough to adjust and distribute pressure evenly across the baby’s belly and back. This avoids any kind of skin troubles or irritation during the baby’s natural movements through the day and ensures a peaceful sleep through the night.

More Ways to Ensure Deep Sleep for Babies

In addition to choosing the right diaper, ensuring the following are also taken care of.

• Feeding: Make sure you feed them enough for the nighttime so they do not get hungry.
• Layering: Dress your baby in a comfortable diaper and breathable clothes that do not itch or chafe and disturb them while sleeping.
• Atmosphere: Dim the lights and make sure there is no loud noise or clattering in the background that could hinder their sleep. Keep the room as cool as possible.
• Bedding: Keep the toys and extra bedding like quilts, blankets, pillows, or comforters out of their crib, as they could potentially lead to SIDS.

For parents with newborns, ensuring deep sleep may feel like a far-fetched dream, but with time, you will find a rhythm with your little one, especially if they are comfortable. Thankfully, with advancements in technology, products such as Mamy Poko Pants Extra Absorb diapers make life easier with a baby, giving you the assurance that your little one is sleeping well. So, do the right thing for your little one’s development, and you’ll also be getting that extra shut-eye yourself! Sounds like a win-win!

Also Read: 

Top Tips to Ensure Your Baby Gets Deep Sleep Every Day