Benefits of taking a bath before bedtime

Before we all sleep, we want to be relaxed so that the moment we touch the pillow our eyes close and we instantly fall asleep, but that really happens is that we are usually stressed or remarkably busy and do not take a break before bed, we simply conclude some activity and directly to bed.

Liliana Amaro -Children's Sleep Coach has many recommendations before going to bed and among the main ones is "taking a bath before bed" and in the following paragraphs we will focus on why this suggestion.

As adults and parents, we are always on the move, on the street surrounded by people and exposed to the outside so when night comes it is Ideal to refresh and clean ourselves and even more so in this time of Pandemic.

Taking a bath will makes us take a break and have a transition between any activity and going to sleep. The bath can help us relax and the hot shower water dulls the external senses and directs attention to internal thoughts. And this state of consciousness promotes creative thinking." And it gives us a sense of relaxation, we can use this precious moment to think about everything and conclude the thoughts of the day. When we go to bed clean, smelling clean we feel better and ready to relax.

It is important to mention that the water temperature will be equivalent to the climate where we are. And if you have a chance to take a tub bath that is better and much more relaxing.

In Adolescents the bath before going to sleep also promotes a conclusion to the activities of the day, can be that moment of detachment from technology, and continue with the good habit of hygiene.

For the little ones Liliana Amaro recommends bathing before going to sleep as part of the night routine if the baby is extremely active it is likely that the bath relaxes the baby and makes easy this process must be an effective process with the aim of calming and relaxing the baby. When bathing an over tired baby during crying it is likely that the bath is an activity without success. We want the bath time to be a pleasant moment for all to enjoy and relax.

24 Hours time line to create a Sleep Routine

In this basic time line you can learn the best and recommended times for your child to have a nap, eat and go to bed . This time line will be changing as your child grows and the naps suddenly will be reduce until they end n just one NAP at mid day (around 12-15 months).

Also bare in mind that the newborns have feeding times during the night, but essentially by 6 months you want to achieve a routine similar to this time line.

Time Line for a 24 hr Routine

Five Steps to Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night!

Step 1: Choose an early bedtime.
The best time to put your baby or toddler to bed is sometime between 6 and 8 o'clock in the evening. This ensures that your child will
be able to get solid 11-13 hours of sleep during the night. (And yes... that is how much sleep children should be getting every night
up until the age of about 10.)

Step 2: Put your child to sleep in the same place every night.
Whether your child has a room of their own or shares a room with parents or siblings, it's important that you put your son or daughter
to sleep in the same place every night (and for naps during the day as much as possible.) Putting your child to bed in a familiar place
lets them know they are safe and that they are in a place where sleep is expected of them.

Step 3: Create a predictable bedtime routine.
Consistency and predictability are really important to babies and toddlers. When they know what to expect at bedtime, it makes it
*much* easier for them to make the transition from waking to sleeping - and that's why creating a bedtime routine is so important!
A good example of a bedtime routine might be something like this:
6:20 p.m. Bath time
6:35 p.m. Put on pyjamas
6:40 p.m. Nursing or bottle (NOTE: Do NOT let your child fall asleep while feeding!)
6:55 p.m. Story or songs
7:00 p.m. Into cot or bed
Your bedtime routine shouldn't take more than about 45 minutes, and it's VERY important that the routine is the same every single
night. The repetition and predictability are what let your child know that he or she will soon be expected to fall asleep.

Step 4: Put your baby to bed AWAKE!
If you've been rocking, nursing, or otherwise soothing your baby to sleep, this is going to seem like a tough one... but it's actually the
most important step! It's only by letting your baby fall asleep WITHOUT your help at bedtime that he or she can learn the skills
necessary to stay asleep through the night.

Step 5: If your baby wakes up during the night, wait a few minutes before intervening.
Everyone - babies and adults alike - will actually wake up several times every night. For most adults, these waking are so brief that
we don't even remember them the next morning. However, many babies will immediately start to fuss or cry when they wake up.
This is simply because they haven't learned how to fall asleep on their own. If a baby has been nursed or rocked to sleep at bedtime
since birth, it's not surprising that they wouldn't know how to fall asleep independently. The good news is that many babies can figure
out how to get back to sleep within just a few minutes of waking up in the night!
If your child continues to fuss or cry for more than a few minutes, you'll want to go in and offer some comfort, but it's important to let
your child do the work of falling back to sleep. You can speak softly to your child and do some gentle rubbing or patting, but you should
avoid picking your child up and rocking or nursing back to sleep.

So there you have it... the 5 most important things you need to know about getting your child to sleep through the night. Of course, it's
important to keep in mind that every child is a little different - there's no "magic formula" that will work 100% of the time for every baby!

My passion and profession is to help parents like you, developing customised plans for solving child’s sleep problems.
Liliana Amaro
Zzleep my baby