A child wakes up every hour at night: what to do?

Healthy sleep becomes the key to the normal development of the child. But, having brought home the long-awaited baby, after a certain period of time, mothers begin to anxiously notice that the child wakes up more than once during the night, is capricious and cries for no apparent reason. Tiring vigils occur repeatedly, their frequency increases. Doctors divide sleep disorders into physiological and psychological. Parents need to understand why the child wakes up every hour at night.

The kid is not sleeping. Why?

In children whose age has not reached one year, the phases of sleep change with an hourly frequency. If there are no prerequisites: illness, hunger, thirst, nervous disorders - the child, even waking up, will immediately plunge back into sweet dreams.

It is noted that sleep disorders can be initiated by the parents themselves, who did not establish the correct regimen of the day. A child wakes up every hour at night if before his bedtime music plays in the house, there are loud conversations, he plays outdoor games. It is recommended to introduce into everyday life such rituals as evening bathing, lullabies, twilight.

Main reasons

All the reasons that allow us to get the answer to the question “why does the child wake up every hour at night” can be attributed to physiological or psychological factors.

Physiology

• In the room where the baby sleeps, the temperature is extremely uncomfortable. The ideal range is 18-23 degrees, so even in winter it is not recommended to arrange a "greenhouse" in the bedroom.
• Perhaps the baby stained the diaper or wet the diapers. For all children without exception, this is a strong discomfort that makes you wake up.
• The child is hungry or wants to quench his thirst. Even in a dream, small households are unable to abandon their needs. By this behavior they try to convey to their parents the true cause of awakening.
• High fever, nasal congestion, teething, abdominal pain, colic, etc.
• The child wakes up every hour at night or even more often if he sleeps in uncomfortable clothes, which restricts his movement. It is possible that he is uncomfortable with the synthetic material of bedding (if suddenly it is used), tightly tightened diapers. All of these factors can cause itching and even pain.
• There is excessive noise in the baby’s bedroom, too light, etc.

Such factors are easily eliminated, the main thing is to reliably determine the cause.

Psychology

• The baby's psyche is unstable, susceptible and excitable. The child wakes up at night every hour, when the excitement of a lived day has a negative effect on him. Any trifle, even the sad ending of a fairy tale, can initiate an untimely awakening, especially if there was a quarrel with my mother.
• The negative mood of family members is immediately transmitted to the child. This factor often makes children nervous and, as a result, disrupts a full night's rest. A healthy family atmosphere is the key to the peace of the crumbs and his serene sleep.
• Late viewing of cartoons, TV, tablets and smartphones. The child wakes up at night every hour because of the stormy emotions received after that.
• Deficiency of daytime positive emotions, tactile sensations, communication.
• Fears of various nature, including those based on the loss of mom.
• Bad dreams.

Mom should show maximum care and patience in order to identify and eliminate the psychological prerequisites for sleep disturbances in the child.

Serious reasons

• Enuresis at night. If in infants this is the norm, then at an older age, children should get up and walk on the potty. If the child wakes up at night every hour due to frequent calls to the toilet, you must consult a doctor.
• Apnea. This is a disease characterized by short-term respiratory arrest in a dream. Immediate medical attention is recommended.
• "Swinging motion." The baby can rush about on a bed, scatter nearby things, rise and fall again, assiduously beat its head on a pillow. Such symptoms, especially on a regular basis, may be signs of increased intracranial pressure, epilepsy, and mental disorders. Specialist consultation required. If a child wakes up every hour at night for 8 months, a year in a row is not the norm, but a sign of a dangerous disease.

If babies do not sleep

If the child is still very small, the cause of the sleep disorder may lie in anything. Most often, the baby experiences colic, his teeth begin to cut, and in some cases, worms that are active precisely at night break the quiet rest.

If such conditions are repeated often enough, it is recommended to visit a pediatric neurologist and pediatrician. Doctors will prescribe a full examination, in which the actual state of health of the baby will be determined.

If the examination shows that the child wakes up every hour at night, as the teeth are cut, the pediatrician may prescribe special drugs. As a rule, these are gels that facilitate the condition of crumbs. The drug treats the gums of the baby, and he does not experience pain.

Or is he hungry?

When identifying causes related to digestion, the diet of the child is subject to adjustment. If he is breastfed, the mother should be more sensitive to her diet and exclude all inappropriate foods that cause the baby’s upset. In the event that the parents support artificial feeding, the child probably does not fit the mixture, it is changed to another. The baby is monitored, you need to look at his reaction to new foods.

If the cause is hunger, it is recommended to increase the amount of food that comes to the baby with the last feeding. In addition, you should make sure that the child eats up during the day. Some children are as active as possible and spend a huge amount of calories not replenished with food. It is at night such babies get the missing nutrients. Many parents are thrilled that the child wakes up every hour at night. What to do first? Pediatricians recommend reviewing his diet. It is possible that some aspects are subject to adjustment.

If the baby wakes up every hour at night, you should check if he is wet, especially if he sleeps on diapers, and not in the diaper. Some children are very worried about this. However, care should be taken, and if the baby sleeps quietly in a full diaper, you do not need to wake him.

Once again about sleep conditions

If a child wakes up every hour at night and cries, parents should create comfortable conditions for him to rest: let the room have a normal level of humidity and temperature, ventilate the room before going to bed. Very often, young children are sensitive to stuffiness or cold, excessively dry or humid air.

Parents should be careful and observant. Some babies begin to get nervous in a dream because of too tight clothes, then they should be sent to bed in light pajamas or naked. Freedom-loving crumbs will certainly try to swaddle, free at night. Do not insist on the usual way of dressing. And vice versa - too impressionable children, falling asleep in free things, can accidentally wake up from the movement of their own hands and cry, frightened.

What is the norm?

1. Infancy. The baby is in a dream for about ten hours. It is normal for a child to wake up every hour at night. 3 months or less is the age at which he is sensitive to everything that happens around him. Parents should be patient and try to eliminate the possible causes of anxiety described above.
2. One year old kids. According to statistics, out of five, one child wakes up every hour at night a year. During this period, much depends on the nature of the crumbs, for example, restless and active children sleep very sensitively. They can jump from any rustle and get up early. To smooth out the situation, doctors recommend individually preparing them for bed. It can be reading your favorite fairy tale or a lullaby.

In addition, it is at the age of one, up to two years, that it is advisable to teach the baby to fall asleep on his own. Then, if he wakes up at night, he will not need parental help to plunge back into his dreams. Closer to the age of two, children may experience fears. To eliminate them, you can install a fun night light, put your favorite soft toy in the crib. If a child wakes up every hour at night a year for no apparent reason, it is recommended to consult a doctor.

The relationship of sleep and natural feeding

Specially conducted studies have established that children sleeping with their mother eat their milk the longest. Dependence consists in the frequency of applying crumbs to the chest. Moreover, kids sleeping in a separate bed are forced to wake up, cry and grunt in order to draw attention to their hunger. As a result, both the culprit and the mother need more time to fall asleep again.

This pattern is especially clearly observed when the child wakes up every hour at night (8 months or a year - it does not matter). However, despite the undeniable benefits of breast milk, this organization of sleep has negative consequences. The baby gets used to getting breasts on demand and is simply not able to fall asleep and sleep peacefully all night without her.

That is why children from six months old must learn to relax separately. If a child wakes up every hour at night, 7 months is a sufficient period to normalize the situation. The baby is able to completely wean from the mother's breast as the main factor of protection and sedation. Toddlers cease to be applied for the sake of feeling the proximity of mom. They learn to be calm without her.

In conclusion

The health and tranquility of beloved peanuts is the concern of careful parents, especially if the child wakes up every hour at night. 7 months or a year - it doesn’t matter, patience should always be strong. If you treat your child with a fair amount of attention, care and love, you can eliminate any negative manifestations, including frequent nightly rising.