Colic Remedies That Work

Giving Your Baby the Sleep Habit

You’ve all heard of the parents that have a child that sleeps through the night early on. Is this true or just urban legend? And if it’s true, what do these parents know that you don’t?

They know that sleep is a learned skill.

Another way to say this is that the sleep pattern is actually a developed habit. The multitude of books out there that train your child to sleep are all helping you create a habit pattern in your child. Humans by nature are creatures of habit. Ann Graybiel, a professor of Brain and Cognitive Science at MIT, says, “We live mostly by habit.” Babies are no different than adults in this regard, but they are different in that very few habits have had a chance to form.

Websters defines habit as “a way of acting fixed through repetition”. Habit implies doing unconsciously and often compulsively. A practice, on the other hand, suggests an act or method followed with regularity and usually through choice. The way we learn habits and practices are quite different. Since a practice involves choice, you just have to decide to do it, and then act on that decision. Habit involves training your unconscious mind to accept the new behavior pattern.

Most research has shown that creating a habit it takes a minimum of 21 days. During this time period the desired behavior must be performed at the desired times with perfect regularity. Some research shows that missing even one event can set the whole process back to the beginning. You can see that consciously developing a habit, while simple, requires commitment.

The keys to successfully developing a new habit are:
1. Having a good reason to do it. Having a compelling reason makes it even easier.
2. Clearly identifying the habit you want to develop. Be specific: times, actions to be performed, and results.
3. Commitment. Ensure this by taking a minute to jot down the consequences of not developing the habit.
4. Finally, commit to the 21 days and track it on a day journal chart.

You are probably thinking, “This sounds great for starting my new workout program but how does this help my baby sleep?” What is interesting about habits is that, as habits are subconscious, they can be set for you by someone else. Your baby has no idea when he or she should sleep so it is up to you to help them develop the habit of sleep.

Looking at the four keys to successfully developing a new habit, above, and you see that you have got number one covered. Having a good night’s sleep is a pretty compelling reason to create a new habit. You also already know the consequences of not developing that habit or else you would not be reading this article. As for step #3, write down the schedule you want to create. For example, “I will put my two month old babe down for naps at 9am, 1pm and 4pm; at 7:30pm they will be in bed for the night.” Try and stick to these times as closely as possible and by the end of the 21 days your baby should start to fall asleep at these times with little to no encouragement.