Understanding Day-Night Confusion in Newborns
Bringing a newborn into the world is a beautiful rollercoaster, but it also comes with its share of challenges. One of the most common sleep-related issues that new parents face is day-night confusion. Understanding this phenomenon and knowing how to help your baby establish a proper sleep schedule can be helpful for both their well-being and your own.
What Is Day-Night Confusion?
Day-night confusion occurs because babies are not born with a fully developed circadian rhythm, which is the internal clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles in humans. Instead, they have a more flexible and undeveloped schedule. Early on they have a hard time staying awake and sleep in chunks around the clock.
Another reason for day/night confusion is that babies do not produce melatonin. Melatonin is what signals our brain that it's night time, and thus time to sleep. Newborns typically can only give one long stretch of sleep in a 24 hour period. We want this to be at night, right? Keep reading for tips to make this happen.
Signs of Day-Night Confusion:
Very sleepy during the day: It’s completely normal for newborns to be sleepy, but if you’re having a hard time getting your newborn to wake for any period of time, this could be a potential sign of day-night confusion
Hard to wake or keep awake during their wake window
Prolonged periods of wakefulness at night time: If your little one is mega sleepy during the day, but will stay awake for a while at night, this is the bigger indicator of day-night confusion
Causes of Day-Night Confusion
Several factors contribute to day-night confusion in newborns:
Developing Circadian Rhythms: Newborns need time to develop their internal clock, and the circadian rhythm typically develops by about 11 weeks old
Feeding Schedule: Babies need to feed around the clock, and this can disrupt the distinction between day and night. If your daytime feeding schedule isn’t regular, nighttime feedings may increase
Dark Womb Environment: In the womb, it's always dark, so newborns may have trouble adjusting to a bright, daytime world.
How to Help
While you can't expect your newborn to follow a strict schedule from day one, there are several strategies you can use to help them establish a better day-night sleep pattern:
Expose Them to Natural Light: During the day, keep your baby in well-lit areas, even when they’re sleeping. Sunlight helps regulate the circadian rhythm, so spending time in natural light during the day can encourage them to differentiate between day and night.
Follow eat, play, sleep during wake time: This can help your baby adjust to routines and differentiate between daytime feeds and nighttime feeds
Keep Nighttime Calm and Dark: At night, create a calm and dark environment for sleep. Minimize noise, use an amber or red hued night light if needed, and keep it mega dark to signal that it's time for rest.
Establish a Bedtime Routine: Start a gentle bedtime routine in the evening to signal to your baby that it's time for sleep. Things like a warm bath, white noise, a bedtime song, and a feeding can help set the stage for nighttime rest.
Use appropriate wake windows and limit daytime naps: Like I said above, typically newborns can only sleep 1 long stretch in a 24 hour period. To keep that long stretch at night, wake from daytime naps to feed at 2-2.5 hours and give them an opportunity to be awake (typically 45-60 minutes at first.) If your brand new little one has trouble with this, that’s ok, they’re still brand new! Tune in to your little one and take it one day at a time.
Differentiate Feeding Times: During nighttime feedings, keep the lights low and the environment quiet. This will help your baby understand that nighttime is for sleeping, not playtime.
Be Patient: Remember that it's normal for newborns to experience day-night confusion, and normal for them to feed throughout the day and night. This often resolves itself as your baby's circadian rhythm starts forming. You may see that they like a dark environment for daytime sleep around 8 or so weeks. In the meantime, take a deep breath, remember that everything is a season, and enjoy getting to know your new little family member.
