You wake up every hour... maybe not because you're hungry, but because you're "too hot." 🌙🤍

Children often wake up at night... may not always be hungry, but "too hot" is another reason not to be overlooked. 🌙

If the children of a house often wake up at night, sleep soon, panic, cry, wriggle, or seem to be asleep, many families may begin to question whether they are hungry or not, are they going into Sleep Regression, or is there something wrong?

These questions are common, because night awakening can occur from many causes, especially in infants whose sleep cycles are not fully developed, but another factor is often overlooked, despite the ongoing medical evidence: "body temperature and sleep environment."

For our own home, it used to be like many houses. At first, Ma Mie was afraid that the baby would get cold, so he chose to wear long sleeves, trousers, cover his hands, cover his feet, and a blanket because he thought that the little baby would need more warmth than an adult.

But when you observe several nights in a row, you find that when you dress thicker than usual, Phoebus often wriggles, warms, sweat soaks in the nape of your neck, and wakes up more often than usual. When you try to wear clothes that are breathable, open your hands, open your feet, and reduce the thickness of your blanket, you look more comfortable, sleep more continuously, and wake up less at night.

Of course, the experience of our home cannot be used for all children, but the interesting thing is that medical evidence explains this in the same direction that overheating can actually interfere with sleep quality.

Why does heat affect sleep?

Sleep is not just the closure of the eyes, but a complex process in which the brain and body work together. One of the things that happens before we sleep is that the core body temperature gradually decreases to signal the brain to rest.

When the body gets too hot, this process is disrupted, making it harder to get into deep sleep and more likely to wake up during the night. Sleep Medicine research has found that excessive temperature is associated with a decrease in deep sleep and frequent waking during the night in both adults and infants.

Although babies have different sleep patterns than adults, the basic principles of thermoregulation and sleep remain similar: the body must be comfortable, not too hot or too cold, to sleep in quality.

Why are babies hotter more easily than they think?

Many people understand that small babies need extra warmth. The truth is that babies have incompletely developed thermoregulation, which makes them not as well adapted to the weather as adults.

In addition, infants have a greater surface area of their bodies relative to their body weight, thus gaining and losing heat quickly. At the same time, their cooling capacity is not complete. If they wear multiple layers of clothing, use a thick blanket, or stay in a hot room, the body may accumulate heat more easily than parents think.

This is why many pediatrics organizations focus not only on preventing coldballs, but also on avoiding overheating.

Overheating doesn't just affect sleep.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states in its Safe Sleep guidelines that dressing too thick, using a thick blanket, or overheating infants is one of the risk factors associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), while not a direct cause, but a preventable factor.

Because of this, it is recommended to avoid wearing multiple layers of clothing unnecessarily, not covering your head while sleeping, and choose clothes that suit room temperature rather than thick blankets.

However, this data does not mean that hot babies are born with SIDS, but is the reason why doctors always focus on preventing overheating.

What should the room temperature be?

There are no numbers that fit all children because they depend on the clothes, humidity and ventilation of the room, but guidelines from many organizations suggest that around 24-26 ° C is when most children feel comfortable, if they dress appropriately.

The important thing is not to keep the air as cool as possible, but to keep the room ventilated, unscrupulous, and unheated until the baby sweats.

So how should the baby be dressed?

The simple principle that pediatricians often use is that they wear only one layer more clothes than adults. If adults feel comfortable in T-shirts, they may wear thin cotton long-sleeved bodysuits or breathable pajamas.

If the weather is not freezing, there is generally no need to wear hats, gloves and socks all night, especially when out of the early birth period, because it can make the baby uncomfortable and accumulate more heat.

Cold hands, cold feet. Does that really mean cold balls?

This is a common misunderstanding.

The baby's hands and feet are often colder than the torso; because the circulatory system is not fully developed, it is not a good measure of whether the baby is cold or not.

The correct method of assessment is to touch the nape, chest, or back plate. If warm, not sweaty, it is normal, but if the nape is damp, sweaty, blushing, or wet back plate, it may show that the baby is too hot, the clothing layer should be lowered or the room temperature adjusted.

Is the blanket necessary?

For infants younger than 1 year old, Safe Sleep Guidelines recommend avoiding thick blankets, pillows, dolls, or soft items in bed because they increase the risk of obstructing the airway. If you are worried that your baby will be cold, you can choose to use pajamas that suit room temperature or a standard Sleep Sack instead of using a loose blanket.

If you wake up often at night, is it hot?

The answer is not always

Babies, especially during 0-6 months, have a normal night awakening because the stomach is still small, need to eat milk often, the sleep cycle is short, and also have other factors such as Moro Reflex, brain development, growth, tooth upwelling, or illness.

So if you wake up often, don't rush to the conclusion that it's too hot, but evaluate the whole picture together.

What parents try Czech first

If you start waking up at night more often than usual, check these.

* Is the room too hot or stuffy?

* Is the clothes thicker than necessary?

* Use a blanket too thick or multi-layer?

* Is the nape or back plate sweaty?

* Are you full of milk before bed?

* Wet diaper?

* Is there fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms?

If you have a fever, seepage, suckling less, abnormal breathing, or abnormal crying, you should be taken to a doctor. It should not be concluded that it is just temperature.

What our home has learned

What helped Phoebus was not expensive equipment, not the replacement of the mattress or the purchase of a new lullaby, but the most basic thing: to make him "comfortable."

When we stopped worrying that you were too cold and noticed if you were hot, we began to understand his signs.

Even adjusting clothes and room temperature is not the answer for all children, for many families this small change may help their children sleep more comfortably, and give the whole home more rest.

Finally, you want to remind your parents that there is no single way that works for every child, but observing your child in combination with medical evidence-based care is always the best thing, because sometimes... your child's good sleep may start to make him more "comfortable" than we thought. 🤍

# Children wake up at night # The child is startled # The child is not sleeping # Newborn # New Mom# Dribble # SafeSleep # phbus