Many mothers use music and lullabies to put the baby to bed, but what if the child is very active, excited and does not intend to go to bed in spite of the late hour? Sleep experts recommend using white noise. It can be the sounds of nature, the hum of a vacuum cleaner and others. They are no less effective than my mother's lullaby. Thanks to the white noise, the child calms down, stops crying. He can become your magic help.
What it is?
White noise is a uniform background sound. He does not carry any information, which is why over time, a person simply ceases to notice him. White noise is the sound of rustling leaves, drops, road noise, the hiss of a radio or television, the quiet hum of a vacuum cleaner, the sound of the sea, rain, hair dryer or washing machine.
Paradoxical as it may sound, noise can help your baby fall asleep.
How does he act
Many people wonder: why is white noise more effective for a baby than a lullaby? Everything is very simple: as mentioned earlier, it does not carry any information, it is just a monotonous hum. It is these sounds that remind those that the baby heard while in the womb. It acts simply on the child: he recalls that serene state, soft swaying, dim light, monotonous hum. White noise is a memory of the most peaceful and safe place. It effectively calms babies in the first months of life. Special observations were carried out, during which it was proved that the process of falling asleep occurs three times faster not in complete silence.
Why is this only valid in the first months of life?
White noise, the sound of boiling around life is very useful at any age during daytime sleep. The baby eventually forgets about the sensations in the mother’s stomach. But white noise still favorably affects the child.
It is not necessary to specifically include music with recordings of such sounds, it is enough to simply go about your business while the baby is resting. It is very good if there are still children or animals at home.
How to apply white noise?
The sound, especially loud, prevents children from three to four months old from sleeping, in principle, like adults. What are we talking about in this case? Conversations in the next room, passing cars, repair work of neighbors. White noise is needed to help your child fall asleep and go into a phase of deep, slow sleep. In this case, quiet sounds are not heard, and loud ones are not perceived so violently.
Very active kids who react to any rustle especially need this. They are so interested in staying awake that there is no time to sleep. During deep sleep, the threshold for the perception of sounds is lowered, but still some children can hear them, then the dream will become superficial or even hinder. It can be a slamming door, a dog barking, a car alarm, talking, a working TV, a familiar tune, and so on. However, white noise for a baby is very beneficial.
Healthy sleep
As you know, children can wake up due to extraneous noise if they want to roll over to the other side and for other reasons. Interruption of sleep (short sleep) is very harmful for the body crumbs. White noise for newborns is necessary to prolong sleep, so your child will be much more fun, more active, more curious during wakefulness.
Rules and selection of suitable sounds
As you know from the physics course, white noise is a random process. It’s hard to say a lot of such sounds that your baby will like. One must act by trial and error. In addition, you need to know some rules:
- Avoid sounds for more than twenty-five minutes.
- Position the source at least a meter from the bed.
- Do not exceed the volume more than acceptable (50 decibels).
Regarding the first paragraph. If the baby will constantly sleep to these sounds, then in the future it will be difficult to wean it from this. If you bought a special white noise generator, it will automatically turn off after twenty-twenty-five minutes. The third point should be observed, otherwise it will lead to a disorder of the hearing aid and mental health of your child.
White noise and breastfeeding
No matter how strange it sounds, special sounds will help you and your baby with breastfeeding if the baby refuses to take breasts. It often happens that a child bends, cries, refusing to take his chest, but when he hears the noise of a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or water, he instantly calms down and begins to actively suck. If you have problems feeding, perhaps this option will help you.
Moreover, now all smartphones have rarely come across a black and white push-button telephone. You can download tons of free apps with these sound effects. Someone does not like this option? There are many toys - generators of white noise. Also, kids love to listen to the radio on an empty frequency, that is, hissing.
Natural white noise
Try to get a small home waterfall, a fountain, this sound will be more natural, maybe it will appeal to your crumbs. Only in this case must the rules mentioned above be observed. It’s just that some children are so cunning that the noise of a real river can easily be distinguished from artificial recordings, then your salvation is a store where you can buy a home waterfall.
Benefit and harm
Among the useful properties of the phenomenon, scientists have found the following:
- normalization of sleep;
- stress reduction;
- a good imprint on the nervous system;
- a decrease in the likelihood of sudden infant death syndrome.
If we talk about harm, then white noise for newborns is absolutely safe, subject to safety rules.
Classification
White noise can be divided into the following groups:
- natural;
- technogenic;
- artificial.
The first group includes the noise of rain, leaves, the murmur of a stream, the sound of a nearby waterfall (the distant one already refers to pink noise), surf and so on.
The second group is a little easier: it includes a vacuum cleaner, hairdryer, washing machine, hissing TV or radio ...
Artificial - these are records of any kind of white noise, less effective on a child. There is an opinion that it is even harmful to the child.
Hysterics
White noise helps parents overcome their child’s tantrum. If the baby does not like something, it bothers, use this method. A large number of mothers cope with the endless crying of the child only in this miraculous way.
The use of white noise during intestinal colic will also help to cope with the problem, alleviate the suffering of the child, and set him in a positive mood.
Be sure to remember the rules of use. A long listening session will calm your baby, but it can be addictive, which is very harmful. If you turn it on loudly, it will badly affect the mental health of the baby, problems with the hearing aid may appear.
When can I turn it off? After twenty-five minutes, or maybe earlier, when the baby is well and sound asleep. At this time, the sharpness of perception of sounds drops sharply. Then you can just go about your business. It is better if the child sleeps under household noise. Good helpers here will be children and animals. TV, radio and similar receivers only harm healthy sleep, as this noise carries information, the child hears familiar tunes, talking to strangers.
With proper use, it is impossible to harm the child, use these tips, they will greatly facilitate your life.