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By Diane Griffith, Staff Writer, myOptumHealth

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By the time your child turns two, he will probably have spent more time asleep than awake. But have those hours been spent in healthy slumber or have they been interrupted by constant nighttime awakenings and fragmented sleep?

When a child is well rested, it is easier for her to sleep at night and at naptime. But when she is overtired, falling asleep and staying asleep are much harder. Kids who don't sleep well usually fall into a cycle of sleep deprivation characterized by:

• Difficulty napping
• Trouble falling asleep and staying asleep
• Early-morning awakening

Being well rested helps your baby to:

• Produce growth hormones
• Build up his immune system
• Work on the storage, organization and retention of memory
• Increase the blood supply to his muscles
• Restore energy
• Build and repair tissue
• Reduce crying spells during the day
• Grow mentally and physically

Nighttime awakenings

Your baby is older now and doesn't need a nighttime feeding. Yet he still wakes up at night and cries. You rush in, rock him and sing to him, but now he's wide awake and sleep is the farthest thing from his mind. Finally, you give him a bottle - not because he needs it, but because it will help him fall asleep and let you go back to bed.

From infancy to old age, everyone wakes up during the night. We are not fully awake, and can fall back to sleep sometimes within seconds. When baby has one of these partial awakenings, she cries because she hasn't yet learned how to lull herself back to sleep. If you rush into the room to "help" her by rocking, singing or resorting to a bottle, you end up with a wide-awake baby who won't learn how to fall asleep on her own.

Your baby needs to learn how to soothe himself by sucking on his thumb or a pacifier, or (when baby is old enough to roll over) by cuddling with a special toy or blanket. This helps keep a partial awakening just that - partial.

How you can help

These tips may help your baby sleep more soundly:

• If he falls asleep in the car seat, swing or stroller, transfer him to his bed as soon as possible. When motion puts your baby to sleep, it is a light sleep that doesn't give him the full level of rest that he needs.
• After 4 or 5 months of age, don't feed her at naptime or bedtime. This way she will not relate food with sleep, and will not require that nighttime or naptime feeding to fall asleep.
• Catch him when he's drowsy. If he yawns, rubs his eyes or shows in some way that he's sleepy, put him down for a nap. If you wait too long, he will get a "second wind," become overtired and have trouble sleeping.
• When you place her in her crib, give her a smooch, lay her down and avoid making eye contact. Leave the room quickly, even if she cries. Remember that crying is not harmful to your baby.
• When baby cries, don't always run to his rescue. Wait at least 15 minutes before going into his room. If his crying becomes hysterical or unusual, though, check on him to make sure he's not ill or hurt.
• If baby is still crying after 15 minutes, enter the room, but do not remove her from the crib. Stroke her head, rub her back or talk to her in a soothing voice before leaving again. Continue to do this in 10- or 15-minute intervals until she falls asleep. In time, she will learn techniques for lulling herself to sleep, such as babbling, pulling gently on her hair or cuddling with a favorite toy that is safe for her to sleep with.

As they grow

Many children continue to nap until they are 4 or 5 years old. Kids in this age group who don't nap are more hyperactive, anxious and depressed than their napping counterparts. This is according to a study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The study said that when parents let young children forego napping in favor of nighttime sleep, those children usually have problems functioning during the day and don't sleep well at night.

View the original From naptime to nighttime: why sleep is so important for your baby article on myOptumHealth.com 

SOURCES:

• West K, Kenen J. Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady's Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep, Stay Asleep, and Wake up Happy. New York, NY: Vanguard Press; 2006.

• National Sleep Foundation. Children and sleep. Accessed: 01/04/2010

• American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Relationship found between napping, hyperactivity, depression and anxiety. Accessed: 01/04/2010