The Ideal Sleep Environment

Oct 20

With all nurseries and bedrooms being different, it’s helpful to know what should stay the same in a child’s ideal sleep environment.

The thing is, an ideal sleep environment changes as newborns turn into babies, who turn into toddlers, who turn into children, and so forth. What does remain consistent is that we want their sleep environment to be an inviting place where they feel safe, comfortable, and at ease.

I’m going to describe the ideal sleep environment for 4 age categories - outlining the most important aspects of their nursery to make sure that you’re setting yourself up for sleep success.

Newborns

For newborns, they don’t require a big set-up in their nursery to be able to sleep well. They’re quite easy since they hardly need anything at all!
An ideal sleep environment for them includes the following:

Swaddle - Inside the womb is tight! And newborns have something called a Moro Reflex. This reflex makes it so that their arms can often startle them awake. It is ideal to have your baby swaddled so that they won’t jolt themselves awake. Even if your baby prefers their arms up vs down, there is a swaddle for that!
White Noise - Because they are used to being inside the womb, having white noise playing can actually be so soothing to them as they transition to the outside world.
Bassinet or Crib - Your baby needs a safe place to sleep that isn’t right next to you. Co-sleeping poses a huge safe sleep risk, so a bassinet right next to your bed is the ideal place for them to sleep for the first few months. Remember that although you baby can’t move and grab onto things yet, we still want their sleep space to be empty. We want your child to sleep on their backs, on a flat, firm mattress.
Darkness - Newborns can typically sleep anywhere. This is because their sleep needs are HIGH. If your baby is having a problem differentiating between daytime and nighttime, then I highly recommend that you keep nighttime super dark. Even when you respond to your baby for nighttime feeds, keep it as dark as possible. During the day, make sure to have awake time in brightly-lit areas, followed by some naps in the dark. This will help them get onto a normal schedule.

Babies 3-36 Months

Sleep Sack - Once your child is over 12 weeks old, a swaddle can become a sleep prop. A sleep prop is an external item or ‘thing’ that your child is using in order to fall asleep. We want them to start developing some self-soothing strategies, so by transitioning to a sleep sack, we are helping them. Sleep sacks also serve a vital role in keeping your baby warm, preventing crib climbing, and acting as a sleepy-time cue to signal that sleep is near.
Temperature - As humans, we sleep the best in cooler temperatures. It is ideal if your child’s nursery is between 18-21 degrees Celsius. If your child prefers being warm, I’d suggest a thicker sleep sack to combat this, rather than turning the temperature up.
Crib - Your child needs a safe place to sleep, and a crib is that! We want to make sure that if your child is under 12 months old, there is nothing in the crib with them. After 12 months, you can add in a small lovey, a small stuffed animal, or both.
Darkness - Melatonin is produced in darkness and it is ideal if your child’s room is pitch-black for naps and for nighttime. Blackout curtains or shades can work great for this, but tinfoil and black garbage bags can also do the trick if you are on a budget! We want the room to be dark enough that you with the door shut, you wouldn’t be able to read the words in a book.
White Noise - White noise is so helpful in eliminating external environmental noises from disturbing your baby’s sleep cycles. It also helps your child to adjust to new sleep spaces when they hear their familiar sound.
Toddler Clock - When your child turns 2, it is ideal to start utilizing a toddler clock system to help them get familiar with responding to the clock. This will help SO MUCH with the crib-to-bed transition when your child turns 3.

Children 3-10

Bed - From age 3+, the most common ‘sleep prop’ is the parent. It is ideal if your child has their own bed that is separate from yours that they sleep in. They should be accustomed to sleeping in their room, and if they aren’t, now is the time to try!
Night-Light - Some children request a night light when they turn 3, and this is a great time to introduce one. I always recommend sticking to “sunset” colours when picking out the bulb for the light - red, orange, or yellow are the 3 best options.
Distraction-Free Room - If a child’s room is littered with toys and books, then it’s going to be really tempting for them to stay awake and play, rather than go to sleep. If your child is easily distracted by their toys and books, I recommend taking them out of the room and slowly re-introducing them as time goes on.
Darkness - A dark room helps in the production of melatonin, so I highly recommend having blackout blinds or curtains hung so that the early morning sun isn’t waking your child.
White Noise - Unless your child prefers the noise of a fan, I still recommend the use of a white noise machine. Not only is it a familiar sound, but they won’t wake due to other noises happening within the home. It helps bedtime stay distraction free.
Toddler Clock - This is an essential part of getting your child to stay in their room until morning-time. It can also indicate to your child when they can get out of their room and start their day; without them being old enough to tell time. My favourite toddler clock is the Hatch clock, but the Mella Clock is also a great option.

One thing you might have noticed, is that throughout this whole blog post, I made no mention of mobiles, decor, or fancy chairs as a crucial part of your child’s ideal sleep environment. While it looks amazing to have a Pinterest-worthy nursery, it isn’t a necessary part of getting your child to sleep well.

In short form - the most ideal sleep environment is a clean, dark, cool room, with white noise on. You’ll want to have a safe sleep space for your child, along with a swaddle, sleep sack, or warm blankets.

If you have any questions about the ideal sleep environment, post them below!

Bailey