Creating an Ideal Sleep Environment for Your Baby [a.k.a. The Baby Cave]

As October is SIDS Awareness Month, I wanted to write a post not only detailing what an ideal sleep environment for baby would be in terms of helping to promote quality sleep, but also ways that parents can achieve this while also making sure baby is safe. SIDS rates in Canada have fallen in recent decades and awareness and education is key.

Below, I will discuss the 3 main components that make up an ideal sleep environment for baby, and some tips to help ensure we have a safe environment for our little nuggets as well.

Baby Cave Component #1 - Temperature

The temperature in baby's room is an important factor for several different reasons. First and foremost, a cooler room for baby = better quality sleep. Over a 24 hour period, our body temperatures naturally peak and decline. Our internal temperature is usually at its highest in the early afternoon and lowest around 5:00am. When we fall asleep, our bodies naturally cool off. Helping baby's body get to that lower temperature faster can encourage deeper sleep. It can also help baby fall asleep quicker. If we provide an environment for our baby's body to fall asleep more comfortably, it will do so in a faster manner. If it’s too hot or too cold, baby's body will waste energy trying to regulate, making it harder for baby to fall asleep and stay asleep. So what is the ideal temperature for optimal sleep? We are aiming for somewhere in the neighborhood of 68-72°/19-21°. If you live in a house that is difficult to control the temperature and it is tough to achieve a room temperature in this range, dressing baby for the temperature is your next best option. Check out my chart here for what to dress baby in for varying room temperatures.

The next important reason for being aware of the temperature in baby's room is to reduce the risk of overheating. Interestingly enough, the risk of SIDS is higher in the colder months as caregivers tend to bundle baby up excessively by placing extra blankets [try a sleepsack instead!] or clothes to keep them warm. But over bundling may cause infants to overheat, increasing their risk for SIDS. Your baby should never feel hot to the touch - if you feel baby's chest or abdomen and it is hot or sweaty, we need to remove a layer of clothing or lower the room temperature. 

Baby Cave Component #2 - Darkness Level

It's tough to stress how much a dark space for baby can transform their sleep. Many parents fear by creating this ideal sleep environment, we are only conditioning baby to be a finicky sleeper, but it could not be further from the truth. An ideal sleep environment helps cultivate a good sleeper, and good sleepers are adaptable. Parents may report that their children have a bit of a tougher time sleeping in a new sleep environment when it is not dark [say, at daycare] but this is likely more closely related to the fact that it's a new and different sleep environment than the fact that it's not as dark as they are used to at home. While these children may go through a period of adjustment [just like any child would!] they are no worse off than a child who may have become accustomed to sleeping in a bright room at home. Why does a dark room make such a difference?

• Quality of sleep: the quality of sleep is much higher in a room that is cool and the quality of sleep is almost much higher in a room that is dark. Darkness is essential to sleep. The absence of light sends a critical signal to a child's body that it is time to rest. Light exposure at the wrong times alters the body's internal "sleep clock" in ways that interfere with both the quantity and quality of sleep. Melatonin, often known as the "sleepy hormone" or the "vampire hormone" influences sleep by sending a signal to the brain that it is time for rest. This signal helps initiate baby's body's preparations for sleep—muscles begin to relax, feelings of drowsiness increase, body temperature drops - but melatonin is only produced when it is dark. Light exposure inhibits the naturally timed rise of melatonin, which delays the onset of the transition to sleep and sleep itself. So baby may be able to fall asleep eventually, but the onset of sleep is more challenging and the quality of the resulting sleep would be lower.
  

• Overstimulation: as we all know, babies [and older kids as well!] are very easily overstimulated. Overstimulation happens when a child is swamped by more experiences, sensations, noise, and activity than he or she can cope with. A stimulating environment is important for our children to play in as it helps them learn and grow, but children also need downtime and the opportunity to spend time in a calm and stimulation-free environment. One big source of stimulation is light, but luckily it's also something that we can control especially at sleep times. By blocking out this stimulation when our babies are trying to sleep, we are making it easier for them to fall asleep [especially if your baby is an independent sleeper who falls asleep on their own without parental assistance] and to stay asleep [as all children will wake at the 30-45 minute mark for naps, and a dark room can help promote the transition into that next sleep cycle]. Especially if you are struggling with naps, experiment with getting baby's room darker - sometimes this in of itself can help encourage more quality daytime sleep. How dark are we aiming for? On a scale from 1-10, 1 being bright and sunny and 10 being pitch black, we want to get that room somewhere between an 8-10 day and night. This to me would mean that if you're in baby's room anytime during the day or at night and you were to have your hand outstretched in front of your face, it would be hard to make out your hand.

A fantastic product to help achieve the proper darkness level [but still keeping it super affordable!] are these window covers. My kids spent a lot of time with tin foil over their windows as I struggled to find something that was equally as effective - until a client sent me a link for these! Life changing! Check 'em out!

Baby Cave Component #3 - Noise

This point goes hand-in-hand with the above point. While a baby can be easily overstimulated by light stimulation, another major source of overstimulation is sound stimulation. It isn't realistic [and oftentimes impossible!] to control all of the sound in our homes - you may live on a busy street or you may have other children at home that don't understand the concept of being quiet while baby sleeps. So while sound outside of the room cannot often be controlled, we can rely on white noise inside of the room to help block out or mask some of that noise. White noise has so many benefits for a child's sleep, including increasing the quality of sleep and helping to reduce stress and avoid overstimulation. While again, parents may be worried about a child becoming dependent on white noise, thankfully it's not addictive or habit-forming [want to get rid of it? Turn it down a notch every day until it's gone]. And even if your child does grow up to be an adult that prefers some sort of ambient sound when they sleep, it's much easier to re-create a sleep environment with a bit of background noise than to re-create a completely silent sleep environment. When baby was in your tummy, there was constant white noise [and it was about as loud as a lawnmower!] Silence is often deafening for babies. 

To use white noise safely and effectively, it's important that we ensure it is not too loud [it should be no louder than 50-60 dB, or about as loud as if you were in the bathroom with someone while they were showering]. The best spot to place the source of white noise in baby's room would be across from the crib, not right next to it. White noise should always play continuously [I'm talking to you, Sleep Sheep] and not on a timer. It should play for the entire duration of nightsleep and for naps as well. We should also be playing a boring, constant, and monotonous sound. No music [too stimulating!] or anything with 'too much' going on - plain white noise is great, or a constant rain/waves/heartbeat noise. White noise is also a great cue for sleep for baby, and especially if you are working on eliminating any sort of props from a child's sleep routine [nursing to sleep, rocking to sleep, bottle, etc.] replacing that with another sleepy cue [like white noise!] can help with that transition.

Extra Tips to Help Encourage a Safe Sleep Environment 

• Always place baby to sleep on their back. Even once baby is able to roll, continue to always lay baby down on their back. Once they can roll on their own to their tummy, it is safe for them to sleep in that position, but back to sleep always.

• Using a fan. The use of a fan has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS by up to 72%. A ceiling fan is great if it's available, but even a table fan can work to help encourage proper air flow.

• Use a sleepsack. Blankets on a baby are likely to be kicked off within minutes, rendering them quite useless [and unsafe!] but a sleepsack isn't going anywhere. Kids don't often learn to pull blankets onto themselves until about 3-4 years of age, making a sleepsack very useful to keep kids cozy!
  
  Find more tips and guidelines here!

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Pam Edwards is a Certified Infant & Child Sleep Consultant and founder of Wee Bee Dreaming Pediatric Sleep Consulting in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Healthy sleep is addicting and she has made it her life mission to help families all across the world get the sleep they deserve - a good night's sleep doesn't have to be a dream!

What to Dress Baby in at Night

I get the question, "What should I dress my baby in at night?" a lot. Therefore, I've made a handy chart for you to refer to if you're just not sure. This chart was created for children who wear a sleepsack to bed [which I recommend for all babies and children alike!] but the same idea can be applied to children who are not wearing a sleepsack or who are swaddled. The recommended temperature for baby's room, in order to provide the optimal environment for good-quality sleep, is between 19-21°C [68-72°F].

** as a note, 'TOG' is the rating used to describe the warmth or 'thermal resistance' of a product. The lower the 'TOG', the more lightweight the sleepsack is. Most sleepsacks come with a TOG rating on the package.

Pam Edwards is a Certified Infant & Child Sleep Consultant and founder of Wee Bee Dreaming Pediatric Sleep Consulting in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Healthy sleep is addicting and she has made it her life mission to help families all across the world get the sleep they deserve - a good night's sleep doesn't have to be a dream!

Tips for Travelling with Kids UPDATED 2022!

All parents know that vacationing with kids is not usually 'a vacation' at all, but if we are prepared and have a plan of action we can spend less time worrying about sleep and more time worrying about how much sand they've eaten :-)

Before your trip

• Make sure you are calling the hotel ahead of time to be sure that there is a crib for your baby/toddler to sleep in. If not, bring along a playpen (there are many hotels whose cribs may not meet the Canadian standards so you may want to think of bringing yours from home anyway).

• Prepare a 'fun pack' for the car/plane. Bring along snacks, books, new toys that will keep their attention longer, a portable DVD player, I-pad, and whatever other tricks you have up your sleeve to help pass the time. Take one thing out at a time and drag it out for as long as possible.

• Bring along everything from baby's crib to make their environment as similar to home as possible. This can include their white noise machine (very important!), stuffed animals/loveys/blankies, an unwashed crib sheet, and any other objects your child may use to feel at home.

At your desination

• Prepare baby's room once you arrived so that it is set for nap/bedtime. A great place to put baby's playpen would be in the bathroom or a walk-in closet if one is available. This will ensure that the room is dark and quiet. It seems a little nuts but I can ensure you that baby won't mind!

• If the bathroom is too small or there is not a closet large enough for a playpen, then try and designate an area of the hotel room as 'baby's room'. This might mean being creative and tacking a bed sheet to the walls to divide baby's room from yours. This is where white noise is important as it will help to drown out the sounds from the rest of the room. Darken baby's 'room' as much as you can using black construction paper, tin foil, or a blanket/bed sheet on the window.

• You really want to avoid co-sleeping if it's entirely possible (unless of course you are already co-sleeping). Depending on the length of your trip, baby will become accustomed to this new sleeping arrangement and you may find it difficult to kick the habit once you're back home. As well, a baby that is not used to sleeping with mom and dad (and a mom and dad that aren't used to sleeping with baby!) may find that they do not get a restful sleep together.

this is the life!

Time Zone Shifts

Having a plan in place and understanding the effect that travel has on your child's sleep pattern is important to avoid worry and limit problems.  Children and adults cannot adjust instantly from one time zone to another, although children often have an easier time adjusting than adults.

If you are travelling west (1-3 time zones)

• Try to keep baby awake until the 'correct' bedtime in the new time zone. If the change is too significant to accomplish the first night, do it gradually over a couple of days.

• You may have to wake up early with your child for a day or two. Try to leave him in his crib as close to 6:00am the new time as you can, but if he's very upset it is not fair to leave him crying since he has not fully adjusted, so you may have to live with an early wake-up for a couple of days. Chances are you will be awake as well as your body will have not adjusted either.

• Do not let your child 'over-nap' to make up for a loss of nightsleep. We want to avoid baby making up nightsleep during the day as this will only lead to less nightsleep the following night and the cycle will continue. Try to delay his naps (but only by about 15-30 minutes for younger children) to get them as close to 'normal' nap time as possible.

If you are travelling east (1-3 time zones)

• Your child will probably be staying up later than he usually does for the first night or two.

• Wake your baby the next day up at the 'correct' wake-up time according to the new time zone. Again, if the change is too large to accomplish in one day, do it gradually over a couple of days.

• Do not let your child 'over-nap'. Naps, like bedtime, will run late by the amount of the time change, so allowing him to nap longer than usual will only push bedtime even later.

If you are travelling across more than 3 or 4 time zones

• Children handle these large changes much more easily than adults do. This is because the drive to sleep during the day when our adult bodies aren't supposed to sleep is much higher in children (especially, of course, with those that are still napping). Parents often find that their children adapt quickly so there is no need to make big, elaborate plans.

• You can't force a child to sleep when he is not tired but you can force a child to stay up (within reason) when he is sleepy (or when he should be awake according to the new time zone). Baby will self-correct quickly by making up for the lost sleep at proper times according to the new time zone. If you wake him up when he is asleep at the 'wrong times' he will want to sleep at the 'right times'. This is the most important advice so if you keep it in mind, everything will work out.

• If you travel east - your child will probably fall asleep much later than usual at first and have to be awakened in the morning. If you travel west - he will want to fall asleep much earlier and you will have to keep him awake. Either way, the times he wants to sleep or be awake are going to be very erratic for a couple of days but it should not last for more than that.

Travelling, especially across time zones, with children can be stressful, but if you have a solid plan in place and are prepared that it will take a couple of days to adjust, it doesn't need to be a major headache.  The best way to re-set our biological clocks is sunshine.  Especially if you are travelling to an exotic place, it shouldn't be too difficult to make sure your child is getting plenty of sun during the day (especially early morning and early evening depending on which direction you are travelling).  Most people make the necessary changes without even thinking about them because of expectations driven by activities, meals, and other obligations.  Safe travels!

White Noise - a Must-Have for Baby Sleep UPDATED 2022!

Why is white noise so important?

• White noise, by 'technical' definition, is a consistent noise that comes out in an equal amount at every frequency, from low to high, that a human being can hear.

  When a noise wakes you or your child up in the night, it's not the noise itself that wakes you, per se, but the sudden change or inconsistencies in noise that jar you. White noise creates a masking effect, blocking out those sudden changes that wakes us or make it difficult to fall asleep.

• We know that the trick to helping children sleep better is to re-create the conditions that they experienced in the womb, and the womb is a noisy place. Baby is soothed by the sounds of mom's heart beating, her stomach growling, and muffled voices from the outside. And it is LOUD - slightly less loud than a lawnmower. Now imagine going from that constant deafening sound to utter silence. Not comforting for little babies!

• White noise reduces stress in babies. Every day babies are inundated with new faces, new places, and more stimulation than they can handle. White noise creates a safe place for them by helping them to block out this stimulation.

• White noise helps babies sleep better. It helps to block out the sounds from dogs barking, doorbells, older children, and whatever else is going on in the house while they are trying to sleep.

• White noise needs to be LOUD. Not just quiet background noise, crank that baby up! You want it about as loud as if you were standing in the bathroom while someone was showering [to be precise, it should read between 50-60 dB]. It also needs to be boring - no classical music or twinkle twinkle on repeat. Radio static is perfect, and most white noise machines come with a 'white noise' option. Even a box fan works perfectly if you don't want to invest in a machine. Bonus: fans in baby's room has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS.

• Your child won't become 'addicted' to white noise. Just the same as they won't become 'addicted' to needing a dark room to sleep in. Sure, most adults would prefer to sleep in a dark room, or with a little white noise (a fan, the hum of a humidifier) but we aren't dependent on it.

• Make sure the white noise is CONTINUOUS. It needs to play for the entire nap and bedtime. Avoid the popular products that have a timer - those will work against you as baby will wake up at that 45 minute mark and wonder where that nice sound went.

When should I stop using white noise?

The short answer - never! White noise can be used safely and effectively with people of all ages - babies, toddlers, school-aged children, and even adults!

The effects of white noise have been studied for many years, and when used safely [meaning used at an appropriate volume, as per above] it has been shown to reduce crying in infants, improve cognitive performance, counteract symptoms of ADHD, enhance deep sleep, and so on!

You may wish to discontinue the use of white noise with your child for your own personal reasons, but ask yourself the following questions first before doing so:

1. Are you planning more children? Using white noise to mask internal sound [noise coming from within your house] can be extremely helpful. We all know how loud and disruptive a newborn's cries can be [at all hours of the day and night!] so if you are planning to expand your family, keeping white noise around until your youngest is sleeping soundly at night is worth considering!

2. Is your child a light sleeper? For those of us that are light sleepers, white noise is a very effective tool at improving quality of sleep. It is much more difficult to recreate absolute silence for sleep vs. a bit of ambient sound and for those that require silence, any small change in sound has the potential to disrupt sleep [either waking us or just decreasing the quality of sleep].

3. Does your child enjoy white noise? My motto with sleep is always 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it!' If your child is enjoying using white noise, there is no need to eliminate it. I promise you won't need to pack it in their bags when they go for sleepovers at their friend's houses ;)

   Conversely, if your child is at an age where they can vocalize their likes and dislikes and they have requested that we no longer use white noise for sleep - that's okay too! You might first try and see if perhaps they prefer the white noise to be a bit quieter or at a different tone/frequency, but as long as the noise machine doesn't become a stall tactic ["I want it on! No off! No on!"] then discontinuing the use of white noise at your child's wishes is always okay!

4. Will your child ever be sharing a room with a sibling? When kids are sleeping in a shared room situation, there is always the potential for extra stimulation [either while falling asleep or in the middle of the night]. Using white noise to mask some of these sounds as a way to help both children fall asleep more easily and stay asleep longer is a consideration! If you know that down the road your children might be sharing a room, continuing to use white noise is a good plan!
   

5. Is there a potential for external noise where you live? Do you live on a busy street? Are you near a hospital or fire station? Is there a lot of thunderstorms or strong winds? Does your neighboorhood love fireworks for every occasion? Do you have a neighbor with a very loud truck or a dog that barks all hours? All things to consider when thinking of eliminating white noise as these are all external factors that can impact the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep!

6. Do you travel often? While we may be able to control the volume [to some degree] at our own homes, controlling the volume when we are away from home is a lot more challenging. Whether it's a busy hotel and a room right near the pool or a family member's house with lots of cousins running around [nobody wants to shush somebody in their own home!], using white noise to mask sounds when we are less in control of the amount of sound can make for a less stressful travel experience. An added bonus is that white noise can help children feel at home so it may help them to feel safe and secure in an unfamiliar environment.

7. Does your child struggle to fall asleep? In a recent study, adults were found to fall asleep 38% faster while listening to white noise. If your child has a difficult time 'shutting down' their brain or has FOMO when they can hear the rest of the family going about their evening while they are in bed trying to fall asleep, white noise can be helpful for blocking out that stimulation. As well, once children reach the age of imagination [around 3 years of age], hearing the creaks and cracks of the house can feel like monsters or boogeymen are lurking in the dark, and waking up at night and hearing that familiar and comforting sound vs. unfamiliar noises can help ensure you don't have a scared toddler in your bed at night.

Does the type of sound matter?

The 'color' of a noise [pink, brown, white, violet, etc.] refers to the frequency and changes in power of frequency within the sound [pink noise emphasizing lower frequency sounds, white noise emphasizing higher frequency sounds, brown noise having a distinct change in the power of frequency, etc.] White noise is what you might liken to the sound of TV static, pink noise is more similar to a rain sound, and brown noise is what you might connect to a strong wind. The type of sound itself is not as important as choosing a sound that you or your child prefers. Pink noise is more universally preferred as it's less of a 'harsh' sound than white noise, but choosing it based on something your child and yourself can tolerate [if you're listening to it over the monitor!] is most important. You'll also want to ensure that your white noise does not have a discernible 'loop' [where the sound fades out and then back in], that there is not too much of an 'ebb and flow' to the sound [a plain, boring white noise sound would be preferable to waves crashing] and that the noise plays continusosly througout the entire duration of the night/naps if applicable [not shutting off after X minutes/hours].

You can find my favorite white noise machines and other sleep products here! I gravitate towards white noise machines that are fan-based 'natural' sounds [or mechanically produced sounds] vs. digitally produced sounds [i.e. an audio track of white noise] and the machines you will find on the above link fit the bill!