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Does The Color Of Your Baby’s Nursery Affect Sleep?

color-of-baby-nursery-sleep

When you are planning your baby’s nursery, odds are you spend lots of time thinking through your specific design plans: color schemes, coordinating furniture, accents and finishing touches, etc. But here’s something you might not consider: how will the colors you select for your nursery impact your baby’s mood and (most importantly, for our purposes) your baby’s sleep?

An important question indeed! Keep reading to learn more about how the colors you choose for your baby’s nursery might impact sleep.

How Color Will Impact Your Baby’s Sleep

Does color have an impact on your baby’s sleep and mood? In a word, yes! There is a whole field devoted to studying how color affects our perceptions, our moods, and our mental states; it’s called color psychology. It’s important, then, to think through your color choices before you start decorating the room in which your baby will be spending most of her time (especially if the baby will grow into toddlerhood and beyond in that room).

Worst Colors For Your Baby’s Nursery

Red/Orange: Red tends to raise a room’s energy level. Intense reds especially tend to feel exciting and vibrant. Red rooms tend to stimulate conversation and energize groups of people. Research demonstrates that the color red can actually raise blood pressure and speed up breathing and heart rate. For this reason, red is generally considered too stimulating for bedrooms – and since you no doubt want your baby to SLEEP in his room, and not have a little middle-of-the-night party, it’s best if you avoid strong use of the color red in the nursery. The same rules apply for orange.

Yellow: Yellow is a bit trickier to pin down. On one hand, yellow tends to be a happier color that reminds us of days spent outside in the sunshine. Yellow is usually associated with morning or midday, so it makes a great color for kitchens. Pale yellows, like whites, can also make a room feel larger, so small rooms (like bathrooms or hallways) often look great when painted yellow. However, most designers agree that yellow is not a good “main” color. Believe it or not, research indicates that people are more likely to lose their temper in a yellow interior. Babies also seem to cry more in yellow rooms. So it would seem that, in large quantities, yellow makes people feel anxious and upset. For this reason, it’s best if you avoid painting your baby’s entire nursery yellow, and instead stick to using yellow as an accent color.

Best Colors For Your Baby’s Nursery

Blue/Purple: Blue has a tendency to lower blood pressure and to slow breathing and heart rates. For this reason, blue is considered calming, serene, and relaxing. No wonder, then, that it’s often recommended for bedrooms! Just be aware that pale, pastel blues tend to look chilly and cold on the walls of rooms that receive little natural light. “Warmer” blues, such as periwinkle, tend to work better in these settings. Be aware, too, that while softer shades of blue are relaxing and look great as main room colors, dark blues tend to feel sad.

Purple is much the same; while dark purples may be too intense to use on all the walls of a room, pale purples (like lilac) evoke the same feelings of rest and relaxation but help you avoid the chilly, cold feel that pale blues can create.

Green: We have a winner! Green is widely considered to be the most restful color on the spectrum. Because it combines the cheerful “sunniness” of yellow and the calming effect of blue, green is suited for use in almost any room. Green evokes peaceful feelings of relaxation while maintaining a feeling of warmth and coziness. Because green has been shown to relieve stress and promote feelings of peace, it’s a great choice for your baby’s nursery.

What About Neutrals?

Don’t worry; we haven’t forgotten about those popular neutrals! Black makes a great accent color but is probably not a good choice for main schemes. White has become incredibly popular lately as a main color, but while it can feel bright and airy, it may not be the perfect choice for a child’s room (think spit-up and sticky fingerprints!) But closer to the middle of the neutral spectrum, shades of tan and gray make great colors for a baby’s nursery. Just strive to pick warmer neutrals, again to avoid that chilly, cold feeling you tend to get in rooms that rely on artificial light.

Your turn: what color is your baby’s nursery? Do you think that room color affects your baby’s mood and sleep?

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If you are tired of wading through stacks of baby sleep books that just aren't working, if you are beyond exhausted and just can't solve your child's sleep problems on your own...than personalized sleep consulting is for you. Our team of expert consultants will create a Personalized Sleep Plan^® just for your family and then support you through every step of implementing your plan. We encourage you to consider our personalized, one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultation packages if you want to see real, meaningful results now. Your consultation package also includes ample follow-up help, designed to help you troubleshoot problems and tweak your plan as needed.

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.

For those persistent toddler sleep struggles, check out The 5 Step System to Help Your Toddler Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your toddler sleep through the night and enjoy a better daytime schedule.

Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a member, you'll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant. And the best part - members receive 20% off all sleep consultation services!

Can't decide which product or service is right for you? Visit our Getting Started Page for help.

Taming Summer Bedtimes: 3 Tips You Need

By Emily DeJeu

Summer is fully upon us, readers! But while warm temps and fun outdoor activities are great, those long, lazy days of summer may be seriously messing with your baby or toddler’s inner sleep clock. Over the summer, many babies start crying at bedtime and resisting sleep even more than usual. It’s also common for toddlers to stop staying in bed and falling asleep much later, trying to tell you, “I’m not tired!”

So frustrating – but not really unexpected, if you think about it. The sun goes down so late these days, and since your baby or toddler can’t exactly read the clock, it’s no wonder your little one is resisting bedtime. It just doesn’t feel like bedtime, with all that bright light streaming through the windows!

Today, we’ll take a look at how you can “tame” the summer bedtime beast, and help get your baby or toddler to bed at a reasonable hour. Keep reading for details!

Taming Summer Bedtimes: Maybe Your Baby Or Toddler Really Isn’t Tired

Now, it’s important to remember that there are two possible reasons your baby or toddler is resisting her normal bedtime over the summer:

Your baby or toddler really is tired and ready for sleep, but is fighting it due to long summer days and fun summer playtime.
Your baby or toddler really isn’t tired at her usual bedtime; the longer days and shorter nights have reset her internal clock.

It’s important to make the distinction, because each of these demands a different response.

Taming Summer Bedtimes For Your Baby or Toddler

Once you know why your baby or toddler is resisting bedtime more than usual this summer, you can decide how to respond.

If you think your baby or toddler really isn’t tired enough for bed at his usual bedtime, then one option to deal with the bedtime delay is to simply embrace them. Set up a “downtime” routine in the evening, in which your baby or toddler works on puzzles, looks at book, or does some other quiet activities. Set bedtime 30 minutes to an hour later than usual, and allow this quiet time to be a long, slow wind-down before you finally put your child to bed. Doing this will reduce frustration for both of you.

Just keep in mind that even with a later bedtime, toddlers in particular may still resist. If your child is testing you, make sure you set firm limits for your toddler and return him promptly to bed, without much interaction. Anything too positive or too negative will make it a game and he will continue to be a “jack in the box.”

If you know that your baby or toddler really IS tired at her normal bedtime, but is simply resisting sleep, then you’ll definitely want to take steps to get your child in bed at the usual time, in order to ward off overtiredness. Here are two things you can try to make sure bedtime happens when it’s supposed to happen:

Have your child nap earlier: Depending on the age of your baby, you can try shifting naps earlier so your baby or toddler is more tired at bedtime, which (ideally) will mean she will sleep regardless of the sun being up. (Of course, you don’t want to time the nap so early that your child is overtired by bedtime…it’s a delicate balance.)
Darken your child’s room: To promote an earlier bedtime, AND sleeping later in the morning, try darkening your child’s room using room-darkening shades. Be advised, however, that the results of darkening your child’s sleep environment aren’t instantaneous. You need to start your quiet and darkened activities up to an hour before bedtime, and you need to allow at least a few days or a week for the room-darkening to re-set your baby’s sleep clock. It can be difficult to fool our bodies into thinking it is dark at bedtime, when it’s not, but with consistency, it can help. Having a darkened room does extend night sleep later in the morning, too, since those room-darkening shades will prevent early-morning sunlight from waking your child.

Late Summer Bedtimes and Summertime Traveling

Now, keep in mind that if you plan to travel this summer, having a later bedtime can definitely make it easier to soak in the sun and enjoy all the people and sites at your destination. So keep this in mind if you really do think your child can get by with a later bedtime, and if you have lots of summer travel plans. You can actually make the later bedtime work for you, in these cases.

If you do embrace a later summer bedtime, know that when summer ends, bedtimes will (most likely) naturally get earlier again. As summer turns to fall, you’ll want to watch for cues that your baby or toddler is getting overtired, such as more crankiness or behavior problems, waking up even earlier in the morning, or numerous night wakings, and set bedtime accordingly.

Note that if you “lean in” to these shifts in bedtime (allowing bedtime to be later in the summer, and then reeling it back in once summer ends), you may have a few days of transition time in which your baby or toddler seems a little bit cranky or out of sorts as she adjusts to the new schedule.

What are you doing to tame summer bedtime drama? Scroll down to share your tips, to ask questions, and to hear from other parents just like you!

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Baby Sleeping More Than Usual? Here Are 3 Reasons Why.

By Emily DeJeu

We all want our babies to sleep – but can you have too much of a good thing when it comes to baby sleep? We’ve written before about baby sleeping too much, but what if your baby suddenly start sleeping more than usual? What if you’re suddenly seeing marathon naps, later-than-usual morning wake-up times, and finding that you need to bump up bedtime?

That makes lots of parents worry.

So what’s behind this sudden onset of sleepiness? Why is your baby sleeping more than usual? We’re sharing 3 common reasons – keep reading for details!

3 Reasons Your Baby Is Sleeping More Than Usual

If your baby suddenly start sleeping more than usual, and seems extra-sleepy, it’s likely one of the following three reasons is to blame:

Your baby is sleeping more than usual due to a growth spurt. Growth spurts are typically the number-one reason a baby or toddler suddenly starts taking extra-long naps and sleeping later in the morning. This is especially true for newborns; lots of parents find, in the first few months of their newborns’ lives, that their babies go through a number of sleepy spells when they seem to sleep around the clock!

To learn more, read this article about baby’s growth spurts and sleep.

Your baby is sleeping more than usual due to a bout of teething. Teething – it’s high on the list of most parents’ least favorite things! So many clients have told us that, just when it seems like sleep is going well, a new tooth begins to pop through, and bam – everything falls apart! Now, while it’s true that teething can lead to increased night waking and shortened naps, a particular nasty bout of teething can work almost like a bad cold, and can cause your baby to need more sleep than usual. Some parents find that their babies even run low-grade fevers and are especially mucus-y during teething, all of which can make baby feel lousy and extra sleepy.

To learn more, read this article about baby teething and sleep.

Your baby is sleeping more than usual due to illness. Similar to teething, illness often causes your baby to wake more than usual at night (due to discomfort), and to wake early from naps. However, your baby will likely need more total sleep throughout the day when she’s sick; her body will need lots of extra rest as it works to fight off the illness.

To learn more, read this article about how illness affects your baby’s sleep.

Baby Sleeping More Than Usual: Rule Out Medical Concerns!

While the three reasons listed above for babies sleeping more than usual tend to be the most common causes of extra-sleepiness, it’s important to rule out any medical concerns that could be causing lethargy and more-than-average sleep. For instance, sleep apnea can affect children, and can cause a baby or toddlers to seem extra-sleepy. If you have concerns about your child’s tiredness, see your healthcare provider.

Questions or tips about baby sleeping more than usual? Scroll down to ask – we’ll answer – to share tips, and to hear from other parents just like you!!

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Wonder Weeks Chart: How The Wonder Weeks Affect Baby and Toddler Sleep

By Emily DeJeu

If you’re a mom in today’s day and age, you’ve no doubt heard about The Wonder Weeks, written by a husband-and-wife team, outlining the 10 “wonder weeks” (which often cause sleep regressions), that all babies go through in the first 20 months of life. The book outlines when and why each “wonder week” happens; it also offers parents insights into how to help their babies navigate each wonder week, and turn it into a leap forward for baby.

Here is how the wonder weeks impact sleep!

Wonder Weeks Chart: How The Wonder Weeks Affect Baby and Toddler Sleep

Week	Name	Description	Impact on Sleep
5 Weeks	Changing Sensations	Your newborn is “waking up”, becoming more alert, and noticing the world around her. This is understandably overwhelming for newborns!	This is when “the witching hour” usually starts – that period of fussiness from about about 5 – 10 or 11 p.m. Be available to cuddle baby often (wearing baby is a great idea at this time); you may also need to feed more frequently in the evening. Baby may also go through a growth spurt at this time. Finally, keep in mind that this wonder week overlaps a bit with the 6 week peak of fussiness.
8-9 Weeks	Patterns	Baby is beginning to recognize and create simple patterns in his world; he’ll practice moving his hands in the same way over and over, or make the same grunting sound again and again.	All this curiosity and alertness can make it hard for baby to settle and fall sleep, so be sure to make your nursery sleep-friendly – it should be dim and quiet. This is also a great time to begin working on simple sleep time routines – start doing the same patterns of events at nap time and bedtime.
12 Weeks	Smooth Transitions	Baby’s movements become smoother and more coordinated; baby also begins to recognize changes in her world, and the patterns of these changes (i.e. every time the dryer buzzer goes off, mom leaves the room).	Baby is getting squirmier at this age, and becoming more active – and that can mean changes to your sleep routine. Your baby may start breaking free of the swaddle. Some parents find that baby’s newfound ability to roll interferes with sleep – baby can roll from back to tummy, but not the other way around. Other parents notice that their babies settle into a semi-regular sleeping and feeding schedule at this age.
15-19 Weeks	Events	Baby is learning to recognize cause and effect, and to predict outcomes (i.e. ‘If I drop this toy, it will fall to the ground, and dad will come and pick it up’).	Welcome to the 4 month sleep regression! If baby’s sleep was predictable up to this point, it may all fall apart now. Continue to work on building consistent sleep routines; this will help baby learn that certain events mean sleep is coming. You may also want to work on identifying any sleep associations baby may have; that will help with sleep training. There’s also another growth spurt that happens around 4 months.
23-26 Weeks	Relationships	Baby begins to perceive distance at this point – the world becomes a much bigger place for her! This may be one reason why many babies begin rolling/crawling at this time.	Separation anxiety may become a problem at nap time and bedtime, since baby now understands that when you leave, you’re far away. This is also a great time to sleep train your baby – work on weaning your baby away from her sleep associations, and on helping her learn to fall asleep independently. Finally, there’s yet another growth spurt that happens around 6 months, for most babies.
33-37 Weeks	Categories	Baby is learning that various things can be grouped together – for example, his blocks may all look different, but he recognizes that they are all blocks. Baby also makes big strides in mobility, learning to crawl well, to pull up to standing, and possibly to take assisted steps.	This Wonder Week coincides with the 8/9/10 month sleep regression. Baby’s sleep may be seriously disrupted, thanks to all his new-found mobility. But baby may also begin to experiment with cause and effect at sleep times – ‘If I cry, what will mom do?’ Your baby will quickly pick up on any patterns, so make sure not to create any new sleep associations at this stage. Finally, if baby is still waking to feed at night at this age, we usually recommend an attempt at night-weaning. (Oh, and P.S. – there is (you guessed!) another growth spurt to watch out for, around 9 months.)
42-46 Weeks	Sequences	Baby begins recognizing the steps involved in simple tasks, like getting dressed, or making lunch. Baby can also apply this to his own tasks – socks have to go on before shoes.	Routines are so key at this stage; most babies love knowing what comes next, so work to continue strengthening your sleep routines. You may find that your baby goes through the brief 12 month sleep regression around this time, and tries to give up her morning nap; we advise that you stick to two naps for now, as most babies this age can’t manage with just one nap.
52-55 Weeks	Programs	Your toddler builds on his understanding of sequences, and starts to learn that there is more than one way (or one “sequence”) to accomplish the same task. This is also when most toddlers start showing strong preferences (i.e. pink socks are great, but green socks are bad).	Welcome to toddlerhood, parents! At this stage, separation anxiety often comes back with a vengeance. You may also start to see some nap time and bedtime resistance at this point, as your toddler is learning to assert his independence and preferences.
61-64 Weeks	Principles	This stage is related to the cause-and-effect breakthrough we saw in the 15-19 week stage, only now, your toddler is learning how to use cause-and-effect to achieve her goals. She is also learning that her actions have certain consequences	It’s time to talk about the D-word, parents – discipline. Your toddler is learning fast how you respond to her actions, so be sure that you are sending the right messages with your responses. This is the time to start establishing boundaries and setting limits for your toddler surrounding sleep, and enforcing them. We often tell parents that at this age, sleep problems are rarely sleep problems – they are discipline problems.
72-76 Weeks	Systems	Your toddler is capable of understanding larger systems now – for instance, she knows that the procedures and expectations at daycare are different than those at home. Your toddler can also change her behavior and actions to suit different situations, which explains why your toddler may be sweet and helpful for the babysitter, but grumpy and whiny for you (which is not at all uncommon, by the way!).	If it hasn’t already, your toddler’s ‘toddler attitude’ may show itself full-force around this time. Continue to enforce your sleep time boundaries and limits. By 17 or 18 months, tantrums are common. Toddler tantrums at bedtime and nap time are especially frustrating – it’s key that you stand firm during these tantrums. Also, watch for the 18 month sleep regression that happens at about this time; it tends to be one of the toughest.

(Chart created by The Baby Sleep Site^®. All views regarding how the Wonder Weeks impact baby and toddler sleep are ours, and are not taken from The Wonder Weeks book. For full information on each Wonder Week, reference the book itself.)

Whew – that’s a lot of information to take in, isn’t it? If you’re struggling to make sense of all this, remember that you don’t have to make sense of it alone. Scroll down and check out ourbaby parenting sleep blog diy resources below, and let us guide you down the path to better baby and toddler sleep!

If you are looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation, and want plenty support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations. Your consultation package will provide you with the chance to interact one-on-one with a trained sleep consultant, who will create a Personalized Sleep Plan™ for your family and then work to help you implement it at home.

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Has your baby gone through the Wonder Weeks stage? How has it affected your baby’s sleep? Scroll down to share your story and to hear from other parents just like you!

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Do Babies Dream? What Do Babies Dream About?

By Emily DeJeu

Ever held a newborn or young baby in your arms and watched him sleep? Many babies are pretty “expressive” sleepers – during deep sleep, they twitch and jerk, they grunt and grimace, they make faces, they smile. All of that expression can make parents wonder, “Is my baby dreaming?”

And it’s a valid question! You dream, after all – why not your baby?

In today’s post, we’ll take a look at just this question: do babies dream? We’ll hear from some of the experts, and then open it up to you, to share your thoughts and experiences!

Baby Dreams: A Background Lesson On Sleep Cycles

First, though, let’s go over a little background info. In order to understand dreams, you first have to understand how sleep cycles work. Human sleep is divided up into 2 cycles – REM (which stands for rapid-eye movement) and Non-REM. Throughout the night, you and I cycle through Non-REM and REM sleep. We have a period (usually 90 minutes) of Non-REM sleep (this tends to be deep sleep, and our body uses it to rebuild and repair tissue, to strengthen our immune systems, etc.), followed by a short period of REM sleep, in which our sleep is more restless. Our REM cycles lengthen as the night goes on – our last REM cycle is up to an hour.

Why all this talk about REM vs. Non-REM? Because we dream during REM sleep. What does this have to do with our babies? Well, simply put, your baby spends a lot more time in REM sleep than you do – her sleep cycles are a lot different than yours! While you spend about 20% of your night in REM sleep, your baby will spend up to 50% (maybe even more, in the newborn stage) of sleep in REM sleep.

(Side note: REM sleep tends to be lighter, more active sleep than non-REM sleep. We wake more easily in REM sleep, as well as in the first two stages of non-REM sleep. This is one answer to why your baby wakes frequently at night, and has naps that are too short!)

So, based on this – it’s certainly possible for our babies to dream. Goodness knows they have enough REM sleep for it!!

Do Babies Dream?

Of course, no one can answer this question with absolute certainty, because…well, because babies can’t talk! However, experts have suggested theories as to whether or not babies dream. On the one hand, some experts point out that babies must dream, given how much time they spend in REM sleep. Because the capacity for dreaming is there, these experts say that it’s logical to assume that babies likely do dream – and that just because our babies can’t tell us about their dreams, that doesn’t mean that the dreams aren’t happening!

On the other hand, other experts are quick to point out that babies probably don’t dream – at least, they don’t dream in the way we do. If you think about your dreams, they are most likely dramas or stories, that involve a chain of events (either past events from your life, or events you’ve read about or heard about), and that involve you, or people in your life. These dreams have settings, they have a storyline, they contains dialogue….but some experts are quick to point out that babies don’t have the mental skills necessary to construct such dreams. Babies don’t have language skills, for one thing; babies also don’t have a strong sense of themselves, of other people, or of objects around them. So how, these experts ask, could babies dream?

Another point these experts point out is that it’s not really fair to compare a baby’s REM totals to an adult’s, because what’s happening during those REM cycles is so different. A baby experiences a truly vast amount of growth and development during the first few years of life – and much of it happens during sleep. During REM sleep, a baby’s brain is busy developing new neural pathways, and all that learning and growing and developing leaves very little brainpower left over for dreaming. (It also disrupts sleep in a big way, and can cause sleep regressions – but that’s another topic for another article! 😉 )

What Do Babies Dream About?

So, if you’re one who believes that babies do, in fact, dream, what might they be dreaming about? Well, most of us would probably agree that we dream about those things with which we’ve had experience – either events we’ve experienced, or events that we have read about, or heard about.

So, if we apply that logic to babies, baby dreams probably include a lot of pooping, sucking, and crying – at least at first! As a baby grows, however, and becomes more aware of her surroundings, who knows? Maybe the mom and dad show up in her dreams – maybe the dog does, too! 😉

What do you think, parents? Do you believe your baby dreams? Why or why not? Share your thoughts with us!

For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.

Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant. And the best part – members receive 20% off all sleep consultation services!

Can’t decide which product or service is right for you? Visit our Getting Started Page for help.

A better night’s sleep could be just a few clicks away. So don’t wait – download now, and start your journey to better sleep tonight!