The Best Ways to Help Your Baby Fall Asleep

Getting your newborn baby to sleep isn’t an easy task. It requires a lot of effort and patience. Nursing, rocking, singing; you’ll practically do whatever is in your power to help your baby fall asleep, if only for a few hours. 

But some babies go to sleep more quickly than others. One baby may sleep peacefully throughout the night while another can cry for hours without end.

Now, if you’re wondering if you’ll ever get a good night’s sleep again, you’ll be lucky to hear that there are some sleep training tips that can help soften the bed.

Why rocking and lullabies should be part of the baby’s bedtime routine to help your baby fall asleep.

When you’re sleep training your child and trying to help your baby fall asleep, one of the most important components is establishing a bedtime routine.

A good bedtime routine will help your child wind down and get ready for sleep.

Many parents include rocking in the baby’s bedtime routine. Rocking actually can help lower a baby’s cortisol levels and calm his senses.

Babies with high levels of cortisol sleep poorly and often wake up very early in the morning. 

Babies love to be gently rocked. According to research published in the journal Current Biology, babies experience a calming reaction when they’re being carried.

In fact, infants stop crying when they’re carried due to evolutionary biology.

Meaning, they’re neurobiologically wired to stop crying when their mother holds them in her arms. Why? Because the mother’s arms are the safest place to be. 

And once you notice your baby is getting drowsy, put him in his crib so that he can learn how to sleep on his own.

Avoid rocking him back to sleep when he wakes up during the night. The end goal of sleep training is to teach your baby how to sleep independently without your help.

In time, he’ll learn not to cry for you and soothe himself back to sleep. 

Another great soothing method that should be incorporated in the baby’s bedtime routine is lullabies. 

There’s a reason why many mothers sing to their babies. It’s because singing lullabies do wonders for getting your baby drowsy and ready to go to sleep. 

According to research, there are three reasons why lullabies work.

One, they help regulate the emotions of the baby or child. Lullabies nicely create a calming atmosphere that’s essential for a peaceful bedtime.

Second, lullabies help create a stronger bond between the mother and the baby. There’s no one to disturb you, no one to interfere; it’s just you and your baby.

These are such precious moments, and you can use these moments to build a strong bond with your little one.

Researchers have proven that listening to music with your child could be monumental in building a strong relationship. It can lead to a release of hormones such as Oxytocin, which plays a key role in mutual bonding and love development.

Third, lullabies help establish a routine.

By playing the same soothing tunes every day, you can accustom your child to a set routine. It will help your baby figure out when it’s time to sleep.

Make it a ritual to play a calm and relaxing composition every day at the same time. 

Does white noise really work?

If rocking and lullabies were amazing techniques for making your baby drowsy, white noise is a proven method for helping your baby sleep independently and more profoundly. 

Have you ever wondered why your baby seems to wake up every 20 minutes?

It’s because he cycles in and out of deep sleep about every 20 minutes. He’s experiencing something called “sleep arousal,” a period of light sleep.

White noise is a great way to silence this built-in inner clock by blocking noises such as doorbells, older siblings, or traffic.

So, if your baby wakes up and begins to get anxious, the calming sound of a white noise machine can offer comfort and encourage your little one to go back to deep sleep. 

One 1990 study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood analyzed 40 newborns and how they experienced the effects of white noise. It was found that 80% of infants were able to go back to sleep after five minutes of hearing white noise. 

The reason why babies react so well to white noise is that it can create a womb-like environment that relaxes and encourages them to fall asleep faster. 

Especially if you’re using the cry it out method to teach your baby how to sleep independently, white noise is a must.

To wrap up

So now that we’ve learned the best techniques for helping your baby go to sleep, it’s time to start practicing them too. 

Start with playing some relaxing lullabies for your baby before putting him to sleep tonight. Once he’s drowsy, put him down into his crib and play some white noise. 

Follow a regular schedule and put him to bed at a consistent time each night. The more consistent you are with your schedule, the easier it will be for your child to get used to the routine. Getting your baby to sleep through the night is one step toward getting yourself to sleep through the night too.