Small children differ from adults in that they have their own daily routine. They eat and sleep at the same time. Sleep needs decrease as your baby grows older.
Sleep features
A child at the age of one year is no longer an infant, his intellectual sphere develops, personality traits appear. However, from the point of view of physiology, it is still a rapidly growing organism, consuming a large amount of energy, which can be replenished with sleep, sufficient in duration and depth.
At this age, the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness has already been formed, and children only in extreme cases confuse day and night. This usually occurs due to physiological discomfort the child is experiencing, or due to some kind of somatic disorder. However, as in infancy, a one-year-old child continues to be sensitive to any external discomfort; for this reason, his sleep may be intermittent. To avoid this, mothers should take care of a dry diaper for the baby in advance (as a rule, there is still such a need for this, especially at night), feed, but not overfeed, the baby, ventilate the room, and prepare a comfortable baby bed.
It is better to go about your business after the baby has fallen deeply asleep, and for this you need to see if the muscles of the face have relaxed and whether the fists have unclenched.
How much does a one-year-old child sleep?
On average, a healthy child sleeps 12-14 hours at one year of age. Of these, 1, 5–3 hours are lunchtime sleep. This is less than that of a baby, whose sleep is 17-19 hours, but it also seriously exceeds this figure for children in the nursery period. The rather high duration of sleep in a one-year-old child is explained by its physiological characteristics.
The child's body continues to grow rapidly, accumulating energy necessary for the proper development of the central nervous system.
If at the age of up to a year it was important for parents to form the daily regimen of the child's life, to eliminate confusion for him day and night, at the age of one it is already necessary to form the actual sleep regimen. To do this, it is important to observe the same time for going to bed, both during the day and in the evening, correctly plan hygienic procedures, form a stable addiction to the ritual of going to bed: reading fairy tales, dimmed nightlight, a favorite toy will not only help the baby fall asleep, but also form a him a corresponding habit.
A correctly formed daily regimen of sleep and wakefulness of a one-year-old child is the most important means of ensuring his health and the correct development of the central nervous system.
