Each child is different, with specific needs that can influence the amount of hours of sleep, which in any case are many in a newborn baby. However, there are some symptoms to pay attention to and to be correct, as a spy of a little regular sleep or any pathologies
When a newborn sleeps too muchto the point that perhaps it has difficulty waking up to eat and the episodes in this sense are frequent and occur constantly, it is understandable that a parent worries himself; especially when it comes to lethargy: the lethargic infant In fact, it enters a state of deep pathological sleep preceded by a serious asthenia, or fatigue and lack of energy.
Let’s see what are the main signs to pay attention to if a newborn sleeps too much, how to distinguish the situations completely normal from those more series and how to intervene in the face of the latter.
But is there really a newborn baby too much?
A newborn who sleeps too much is a child showing Signs of sleepiness For a prolonged time compared to the hours of sleep recommended for his age. In reality it is important to remember that each child is different, with specific needs that can influence the amount of hours of sleep (which in any case are many in a newborn). According to experts of the National Sleep Foundation, The hours of sleep that a newborn needs They are on average from 14 to 17 (18-19 in the very early weeks). During the first months the baby will tend to awaken on average every two to three hours To be breastfed and will not distinguish the day/night alternation (which will learn later).
Although it is an extremely important aspect for the well -being of children, there are not many studies dedicated to sleep in the first weeks and first months of life. Some babies can sleep more than expected and not show any health problems, like others who instead need less hours of sleep.
Some babies, moreover, they tend to sleep more because they are preterm bornwith a lower weight of the average, or because it was necessary to administer drug therapy to them. In this case, the more hours become fundamental for the development of the child’s brain structures.
A study published on Nature Pediatric Research reports the results of the sleep monitoring with EEG (electroencephalography) in neonatal intensive care of a group of preterm infants (on average 36 pregnancy). (1) As far as further studies would be needed to compare and confirm these results, it is possible to argue that lower the gestational age is And the more frequent are the Fees of sleep defined as “quiet” Compared to the “active” ones (that is, when the eye movements and sleep are less recorded is less profound). This happens because the preterm NATO, even if it does not present pathologies, has need to recover compared to a complete born.
In the evaluation of the newborn is lethargicand in general to understand if the child’s sleep routine is good, it is important to consider some factors, such as: for example:
- growth and development;
- the weight;
- behavior during waking periods;
- reactivity;
- The force of sucking during breastfeeding (in the case of sucking through bottle, however, the oral muscles exert greater strength to encourage sucking, therefore in the presence of a state of weakness and lethargy will be even more evident the difficulty in feeding);
- appearance of signs of general malaise.
If there are concerns about the excessive sleep of the baby, it is essential to confront the pediatrician in order to evaluate because the newborn sleeps too much And understand if you are in the presence of a lethargy, a condition for which the child cannot wake up even to eat, is not very reactive and often dehydrated. That’s why it is important to give the Maximum attention to these symptoms and deepen their causes to adequately intervene.
Some useful advice
“What to do when the newborn sleeps too much? “. In reality we understood that the newborn who “sleeps too much”, that is, whose only problem is that of a quantity of hours of sleep beyond the recommended ones, does not exist.
Having said that, we see below some solutions to keep in mind and useful to guarantee the baby a healthy sleepsafe and more regular:
- Monitor sleep. Keep track of the newborn sleep hours can help determine if excessive sleep is really a problem. It is also important to write down how far it awakens and how long every phase lasts.
- Promote a sleep routine introducing daily habits. For example: evening bath; Breastfeeding in a quiet and comfortable environment, with soft lights and far from the noises. This can certainly encourage better and more regular sleep. During the first few weeks it is difficult to establish precise times, but these small tricks can be of great help.
- Stimulate the newborn during waking periods. How much the child does not sleep, it is important to engage in activities that favor its development, such as leather leather contact, a gradual exposure to daytime light (so that it starts to distinguish the difference between day and night), talking to him. Or, again, caress his face and abdomen, massage the feet. On the other hand, brusque movements should be avoided, as sudden changes of position (from lying down vertically in one fool, so to speak), pressure on the body or joints.
- Make sure sleep takes place safely. Check that the environment in which the newborn sleeps is safe, with a temperature that does not exceed 20 °, in order to encourage breathing and microRisvegli. Very important is the position of the newborn on the back on a firm and flat surface, without cushions, blankets or other objects that could increase the risk of suffocation. Recall that these rules are also important to prevent the risk of sids.
During the first weeks of life the newborn does not only need Many hours of sleep but also to feed adequately. When breastfeeding, a child tends to support his request, which especially in this period can be irregular, marked only by his needs. If the little one tends to wake up less frequently, the main fear is that can take less milkbe weaker and enter a sort of vicious circle that leads to lethargy. It is good to underline that, if this happens, it could be absolutely transitory phases, which are resolved by promoting a more regular sleep routine.
When the child comes partially or fully breastfed with milk in formulaawakenings can be less frequent, since digestion will be longer than that of breast milk. In both cases, in addition to considering theuniqueness of each childit is essential to pay attention to its state of general well -being and its growth in terms of weight and length.
Do you have to worry if the newborn sleeps too much?
“When to worry if the newborn sleeps too much?». Once again it should be emphasized that in the first months of life the child has a physiological need to sleep for many hours throughout the day. So you don’t have to worry if a newborn sleeps too muchbut rather if other signs appear, to be discussed with the pediatrician. In detail:
- Difficulty waking up for the feedthat is, if the newborn always has difficulty waking up in being nourished and seems not very interested and reactive.
- Lethargythat is to say If the child seems extremely relaxed during waking periods, he has little muscle tone and is weak.
- Breastfeeding difficulties/nutrition. The newborn is not gaining weight adequately, it shows a reduced desire to feed itself, has difficulty in sucking and eats less than eight times a day.
- Dehydration. Direct consequence of the difficulty of nutrition, it manifests itself with darker color urine, a reduced diuresis (does not bathe the diaper for at least three hours), lips and dry tongue, cold skin, irritability.
- Very prolonged sleepthat is, if the newborn sleeps much more than the hours of sleep recommended for his age, with long pisols and very short awakenings.
- Poor reactivitythat is, when the newborn does not react to stimuli, touch, noise and moves little.
To establish whether or not these symptoms are the light of a more complex problem It is essential that the child is subjected to all necessary checks, in order to deepen the causes. If prolonged sleep has no pathological origins But still leads the child to feed less, the specialist will intervene to improve the situation.
However, there are situations of not transitory letargia which derive from more important causes and which require hospitalization. That is to say:
- infections;
- hypoglycaemia;
- metabolism disorders;
- liver problems;
- cardiorespiratory problems;
- neurological disorders.
The cases of lethargy due to these problems are rarer and more complexbut they must still be kept in mind. They also help us understand, once again, how important it is to observe our children’s sleep, in order to grasp even the smallest changes and communicate any doubts to your own Pediatrician neonatologistin order to intervene early and best when necessary.
