Running head: PATIENT EDUCATION ON INFANT SLEEP 1

Patient Education on Infant Sleep

Mitchel Taylor

Brigham Young University – Idaho

Nurse 310

Sister Forbush
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Patient Education on Infant Sleep

Importance of Sleep

Sleep is one of the most important aspects for a newborn baby and continues to be one of

the most important aspects throughout anyone’s life. Sleep is essential to protect the mental and

physical health of an individual in many ways. In newborns and infants, sleep serves the same

purpose and is connected to the development of almost everything, but it plays an especially

important role in brain development and physical growth.

Brain development is rapid and complex in an infant after it is born. Sleep has been

shown to be essential for the maturation of infants’ brains and consolidation of their memories

(Tarullo, Balsam, & Filfer, 2011). Not only are their little brains trying to make sense of an

overwhelming flood of new information, but during sleep, key neuronal connections are made in

the brain laying down the framework for learning, memory, and cognitive development. Several

research studies have shown that infants who receive more sleep achieve higher cognitive scores

as toddlers (Scher, 2015). This is partly because the more sleep an infant gets the more energy

and time the brain has to strengthen connections between the left and right hemispheres.

Sleep is also directly related to the physical growth of an infant. Infants and newborns

sleep about 14 to 18 hours a day. This is because almost all of their energy is being used for

rapid growth and development in their first year of life. Infant physical health is directly related

to sleep demonstrated by how babies that receive more sleep generally grow faster and gain more

weight (Field, 2017). This is because babies who sleep more are able to use energy obtained

from sleeping and feeding to grow rather than to support the energy requirements that are needed

when awake and moving.

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Patient Teaching

Many parents, especially first-time parents, have little knowledge about what is normal

for their infant and what they should do as far as sleep is concerned. There are many things that

parents must be taught so that they know what they should do to promote safe, healthy sleep in

their infant and what they should watch out for. Some of these include knowing what is normal,

creating a sleep routine, and preventing potential accidents and hazards.

Parents need to know what is normal for their baby. Newborns and infants sleep around

14 to 18 hours a day. Usually about 8 or 9 hours at night and then another 8 hours throughout the

day in naps. However, newborns wake every couple of hours for feeding, even during the night.

This allows them to gain weight fast and obtain sufficient energy needed for growth. The sleep

cycles can be anywhere from 1 to 4 hours at a stretch which varies especially during the day

(Galland, Taylor, Elder, & Herbison, 2012). Towards about 6 months of age two thirds of babies

will reach the point of being able to sleep soundly throughout the night. Parents also need to

know that babies will cry initially when put down for bed, but this will subside within a few

minutes. If it does not then it might warrant investigation for a potential problem or mean that the

baby is just hungry or very uncomfortable.

There are many things that parents are encouraged to do to promote healthy and safe

sleep. It is important for parents to be consistent when initially putting their baby down for the

night. This helps them establish an internal clock and routine. It is best to always put the baby in

the crib before they fall asleep. Rocking the baby to sleep may create unfavorable routines and

letting the baby fall asleep on your chest while on the couch is a potential fall or roll over risk.

Parents need to be instructed not to put their baby down with excessive bedding or blankets.

Swaddling an infant with too many blankets, stuffed animals, or loose clothing increases the
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chances of smothering the baby. Also, during the day if the baby’s nap goes over 2 hours it’s not

a bad idea to wake them up. Especially for newborns, longer naps mean less feeding time and

may make them hungrier at night.

There are a few things that are strongly discouraged to prevent danger to newborns and

infants, especially concerning potential sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS. Sudden infant

death syndrome is defined as the sudden, unexpected death of an infant and is diagnosed once all

recognizable causes of death have been ruled out (Pease, Blair, Ingram, & Fleming, 2018). To

prevent SIDS, parents are instructed to never put their infants to sleep on their stomachs. The

cause of SIDS is unknown, but placing infants to sleep on their backs has statistically been

linked to a significant decrease of SIDS.

The development of an infant’s body and brain are largely dependent on sleep. Without it

they are not able to properly grow and mature as a healthy baby should. Parents need to be

instructed on what is normal and what is not as well as simple do’s and don’ts that protect the

baby from potential dangers and illness.

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References

Field, T. (2017). Infant sleep problems and interventions. Infant Behavior And Development,

4(7), 34-40. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.02.002

Galland, B. C., Taylor, B. J., Elder, D. E., & Herbison, P. (2012). Normal sleep patterns in

infants and children. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 16, 213-222.

doi:10.1016/j.smry.2011.06.001

Pease, A. S., Blair, P. S., Ingram, J., & Fleming, P. J. (2018). Mothers’ knowledge and attitudes

to sudden infant death syndrome risk reduction messages. Archives Of Disease In

Childhood, 103(1), 33-38.

Scher, A. (2015). Infant sleep at 10 months of age as a window to cognitive development. Early

Human Development, 81(3), 289-292. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdey.2004.07.005

Tarullo, A. R., Balsam, P. D., & Filfer, W. P. (2011). Sleep and infant learning. Infant & Child

Development, 20(1), 35-36.