Paediatricians have advised parents against waking sleeping babies unnecessarily, warning that frequent disruption of babies’ natural sleep could affect brain development and other growth milestones.
The child health experts said while babies may not always sleep at the same time as their parents, disrupting their sleep simply to fit the family’s routine may do more harm than good.
They noted that sleep plays a vital role in the development of critical organs, particularly the brain, stressing that infants need sufficient sleep to support healthy growth and development.
The experts, however, clarified that what matters most is whether babies get the recommended amount of sleep within a 24-hour period rather than the exact time they sleep.
Findings by PUNCH Healthwise show some parents deliberately wake their babies from evening sleep, believing that allowing the child to sleep for too long at that time will make it difficult for the baby to fall asleep later at night.
Many parents fear that the child may stay awake for several hours late at night or into the early hours of the next day, crying, playing, or demanding attention while everyone else is trying to sleep.
To avoid this, they interrupt the baby’s evening nap in the hope of encouraging an earlier bedtime.
However, child health experts warned that repeatedly disrupting a baby’s natural sleep pattern can negatively impact sleep quality and make it even harder for the child to establish a healthy sleep routine.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise, a Consultant Paediatrician at Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Aminu Mohammad, said babies from birth to about two years require adequate sleep to remain healthy.
According to him, infants generally need between 12 and 16 hours of sleep daily, with newborns requiring about 14 to 16 hours.
Mohammad said adequate sleep is essential because it supports the development of critical organs, especially the brain.
He explained that babies depend on what is known as the circadian rhythm, the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, to regulate their sleep.
According to him, if children are prevented from sleeping when their bodies naturally expect to sleep, they may not obtain enough rest later.
“Over time, this can affect their behaviour, alertness, comfort, and development. Older infants may also become less active and less playful if they do not get enough sleep,” he said.
The paediatrician explained that one reason babies are awake at night is that they may have already slept enough during the day and are therefore no longer sleepy when their parents are preparing for bed.
He said parents should focus less on forcing babies to sleep at a particular hour and more on ensuring they achieve the recommended number of sleep hours over a 24-hour period.
“As long as the child gets the recommended amount of sleep within a 24-hour period, the exact timing of the sleep is less important,” Mohammad stated.
He added that parents could gradually adjust a child’s circadian rhythm over time by helping the child become accustomed to a different sleep schedule without depriving them of adequate sleep.
Mohammad warned that children who consistently fail to get enough sleep could experience poor growth, inadequate nutrition, delayed development and reduced overall wellbeing.
He urged parents to watch for warning signs of insufficient sleep in children.
“Children who are not getting enough sleep may become irritable. They may not settle or sleep well, and they may not play as they normally would. Sometimes, they appear lethargic. They are not as active, energetic, or playful as expected,” he said.
According to him, prolonged sleep deprivation may also cause babies to develop shallow sleep, making them wake easily at the slightest noise or disturbance.
“If this continues for a prolonged period, the child may not rest properly, may not feed well, and may not grow as expected. Their growth and developmental milestones may be delayed,” he warned.
Also speaking, a Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Ayodele Renner, said although researchers are still studying the long-term effects of repeated sleep disruptions in babies, existing evidence suggests parents should avoid unnecessarily interrupting a baby’s natural sleep.
Renner explained that while scientists are still determining how the frequency and duration of sleep interruptions affect the brain, some studies suggest that repeated disruptions may alter children’s sleeping patterns later in life.
“This could increase the risk of sleep disorders such as insomnia. It has also been suggested that children who experience frequent sleep interruptions may have challenges with their metabolic system, including an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
“Sleep is also very important for brain growth and development. Some studies suggest that poor sleep or frequent sleep interruptions may interfere with normal brain development. Exactly how this translates into long-term outcomes is still being studied.
“In general, most paediatricians agree that parents should avoid interfering unnecessarily with a child’s natural sleep cycle. It is best to allow the child to develop a healthy sleep rhythm naturally,” he said.
The paediatrician noted that sleep is essential for memory consolidation, explaining that interruptions may prevent some short-term and long-term memories from being properly processed during sleep.
“In terms of brain development, sleep plays an important role in memory. Certain types of short-term memory, and even some aspects of long-term memory, are consolidated during sleep.
“Frequent sleep interruptions may prevent these memories from being properly consolidated, which could affect memory, and memory is an important part of brain development. Research is still ongoing to verify these findings, but this is what current studies have suggested,” the child health expert said.
He advised parents to allow babies who sleep during the day to continue sleeping while exposing them to natural daylight and maintaining normal daytime household sounds to help them gradually distinguish between day and night.
