Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Stages

Natural remedies to help your child sleep through the night

By

Just like it can be an issue with adults, children, especially babies, can have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep through the night. However, the remedies available for adults may not be safe or appropriate for children. Keep reading to learn about our tips on natural sleep remedies for babies, including essential oils, to help baby sleep through the night. We’ll also provide some helpful information on sleeping patterns and sleep issues with babies.

Typical sleep patterns for children

The amount of sleep a child needs can vary with each person and their age, and it’s important to understand what is typical. Variation occurs with individual children, but having good benchmarks can help you know when you have a child who needs help with sleep. Here are some age-appropriate sleep patterns.

Baby sleeping on parent's shoulder
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Newborns

Babies 1 to 4 weeks old are similar to cats that nap. They don’t have an internal biological clock, so their sleep patterns may seem erratic. Young infants usually sleep about 15 to 18 hours a day in spurts of 2 to 4 hours. Babies born prematurely may sleep longer, and colicky babies may sleep less.

Recommended Videos

Older babies

Older babies (1 to 4 months old) have more regular sleep patterns. Sleep times are less inconsistent and run 4 to 6 hours, often occurring in the evening. They can sleep 14 to 15 hours per day.

Related

Babies who are 4 months usually have sleep patterns that continue to become more regular. Sleeping 15 hours is ideal, but babies are babies, and sometimes only get about 12 hours of sleep. This lasts up to 11 months old. Babies usually have three naps, but fewer around 6 months old. Their nap times usually drop to 2 hours, which helps them sleep through the evening.

A mid-morning nap is typical and lasts about an hour. An early afternoon nap can start between the noon hour and 2 p.m., lasting an hour or two. Late afternoon naps usually 3-5 p.m. and vary in length, gradually tapering off to just two naps a day. Past a year old, naps become less frequent, around once a day, and children begin to sleep with more mature sleeping patterns.

Causes of sleep problems in children

Sometimes it seems your child will never sleep. Some children are just more alert than others, but some have problems that disrupt their sleep patterns.

Young children don’t always sleep well. For babies, this can mean their bodies are adjusting to the world outside the womb. More serious reasons for sleep disruption can be illness, allergies, night terrors, or sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when someone stops breathing for 10 seconds or more when sleeping. A child may snore loudly, sleep with their mouth open, or be excessively sleepy during the day. Contact your health care provider if this happens.

Also, contact your pediatrician if it seems their leg muscles move without them trying to move their legs. This is likely restless leg syndrome, or RLS, which may require medication and/or vitamin supplements after a health care professional’s diagnosis.

Always contact your pediatritian if your child is running a fever, showing signs of illness, is fussy, or is crying inconsolably. For young babies who can’t talk about what is wrong with them, these are the ways they communicate their distress.

Disruption to routine is another way children can lose sleep. Traveling, events like an exciting birthday party, or a move to a new house can cause sleep disruptions. These will soon pass, and your child will get back to sleep. 

Sleep remedies

There are many available natural sleep remedies for babies you can try, such as essential oils, to help your baby sleep through the night. Consult your health care provider before trying at-home remedies that involve herbs. Some herbs may cause trigger allergies or be inappropriate for young babies or children. Other sleep remedies don’t involve herbal solutions, but instead only require simple lifestyle changes.

Parent checking on sleeping baby
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Best non-herbal sleep remedies

One of the best non-herbal remedies for children and adults is wearing a pair of clean socks to bed. The human body temperature goes down at night as part of its natural rhythm. Socks have the effect of warming your feet, causing vasodilation to open the blood vessels in your feet. When blood vessels are open in your feet or hands, blood can flow through the rest of your body more readily. When your children wear socks, the warmth of the socks helps to create an even temperature throughout the body, making sleep more comfortable.

Physical exercise is another way you can help your child get to sleep. At least 30 minutes of physical exercise is necessary to help your children sleep at night. Avoid doing exercise too close to bedtime, however. Doing exercise before bedtime can wake up your child in the night.

Herbal remedies

Herbal remedies include ways to soothe your child to sleep. These forms include infusions, essential oils, decoctions, tinctures, capsules, tablets, and fluid extracts. Other forms are poultices and ointments to help your baby sleep through the night. Some herbs used in essential oils are:

  • Chamomile diffused in the air can calm restlessness, anxiety, and irritability. This herb is generally safe, but not for those who are allergic to plants in the Asteraceae (daisy) family.
  • Lavender is relaxing and used in aromatherapy for restful sleep. In some people, though, lavender can cause itchiness, redness, sneezing, and itchy eyes.
  • Sandalwood is a woodsy scent for a sound night’s sleep, but it can cause allergic reactions, such as itchy skin.

Caution: While essential oils are useful for creating peaceful sleep, these oils should be diffused or diluted, and not directly placed on the skin at full strength, as undiluted oils can irritate the skin.

Consider this list of natural sleep remedies for babies if your little one is having trouble staying asleep through the night. Always check with your pediatrician before giving your child anything new and inquire with your doctor about the pros and cons.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Anne Cagle
Anne Cagle
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Musical baby names that will make your heart sing
Share your love of all things melodic by giving your child one of these musical names
Baby listening to headphones

If you thought picking out a nursery theme was hard — just wait until you start thinking of what you are going to name your baby. It is one of the most meaningful and personal decisions you'll make for your little one, where some people like to carry on familial traditions, certain parents love a musical baby name, while others like to choose something truly unique. It's not uncommon to have the baby's name selected long before they even become pregnant, with others needing the entire nine months of pregnancy to decide on the perfect name.
People also turn to their personal tastes when it comes to choosing a name, and there is no shortage of inspiration if you go with a musical theme. Music-inspired names are great for anyone looking for a boy, girl, or gender-neutral option because the possibilities are endless. If you're looking for a melodic sound to call your bundle of joy, look no further than these musical baby names that will make your heart sing.

Names that come from musical words
Aria
Aria is the perfect name for any music lover's daughter because it means "song" or "solo melody" in Italian. It typically refers to a musical solo in an opera and has found quite a bit of popularity over the recent years, thanks to characters of the same name in hit shows like Pretty Little Liars and Game of Thrones.
Chord
If you're looking for a more unique name inspired by your love of music, Chord may be just what you're looking for. A chord is a group of notes or sounds strung together. While not a common name, it did become more popular when actor Chord Overstreet joined the cast of Glee.
Harmony
What better name to give a sweet baby girl than Harmony, which means the "musical combination of chords." It's an ideal name for the child of two music lovers. The name derives from the Greek word "Harmonia," the daughter of Ares (the god of war) and Aphrodite (the goddess of love) and was the immortal goddess of harmony and concord.
Lyric
Lyric is a beautiful gender-neutral name for someone who wants to express their love of music through their child's name. Lyric derives from the Greek word lyre which is an ancient stringed instrument. While many feel Lyric is a female name, celebrities like Soleil Moon Frye and Jeremy London both have sons named Lyric. Backstreet Boy singer A.J. McLean has a daughter named Lyric, which seems perfectly fitting.
Melody
Your baby will be as sweet as a song if you name her Melody. The name, which derives from the Green Melodia, means song tune and is a sweet and feminine ode to music and songs. The name has waned in popularity since it peaked in the 1980s, which means it's the perfect choice for someone looking for something a bit more mainstream yet not uber-trendy.
Strummer
If you want something a bit more rock-n-roll for your child, Strummer has the perfect pitch. While it literally means one who strums a stringed instrument, it's a match for an edgier name that still carries a musical tune.

Read more
Why you should celebrate your kids’ inchstones
These important moments are a reason for recognition
Cute baby crawling across a rug

Marking baby milestones is certainly not a new trend. Parents have been capturing baby's first steps and words for ages. Baby milestones are always a big focus because they pinpoint important developmental achievements of little ones as they grow. The lack or delay of certain baby milestones is often a red flag for pediatricians, which is why so much attention is placed on them.

A new parenting trend taking hold recently is celebrating inchstones. While inchstones isn't a contemporary term, it may be unfamiliar to many parents. Inchstones is typically a word used by parents of children with special needs as they inch their way toward bigger milestones. So, why is the practice of recognizing inchstones growing in popularity, and why should parents get on board?

Read more
What is soy formula, and is it good for your baby?
Soy formula is one option for your baby's meals, but what exactly is it? Find out here
Dad feeding his newborn with a bottle.

If you've made the decision to bottle-feed your baby, then you're probably wondering about soy formula. Soy formula is one of the formula options available to parents. Formula is for babies up to 12 months of age and is designed to provide growing babies with the nutrients they need.

Baby formula options include milk, protein hydrolysate, specialized, and soy. The protein hydrolysate formulas are typically for babies unable to digest milk or soy-based formulas, while specialized formulas are for premature babies and infants with certain medical issues. Soy is a popular formula for babies, but many new parents may be wondering what exactly soy formula is and if it's a good choice for their baby.

Read more