Primates are innately protective of their offspring because they know the value they have in their future. As a parent, you will naturally want the best for your child. You will do the best in your power to ascertain that your child has the best care available. That is part of, if not the main reason you are reading this article. Please, don’t let me keep you; let’s explore the value of sleep to your lovely baby’s development.
Development
It is during sleep that the body releases the essential growth hormones that play the crucial role in ensuring your baby grows up to be the man or woman you anticipate he or she will be someday (parents.com). If you are or have been observant, you’ll notice that in the mornings, your baby will seem much bigger than he or she seemed when you tacked him on her to sleep the previous night. If you have noticed this phenomenon before, that’s the magic of the growth hormones. These growth hormones only work well on a body that’s well rested. Only when your baby gets enough sleep with the body release a sufficient amount of growth hormones to ensure your child grows to the full potential of his or her body.
Boost Immune System
The immune system of babies is not a very strong one (parents.com). It’s mostly because a baby’s body hasn’t yet developed all the soldiers required in the immune system to fight intruders, and also it hasn’t yet been introduced to many enemies to know how to deal with them. Enough sleep will help the baby’s body to develop a strong immune system as it’s introduced to new germs with time. The lack of enough sleep will mean the body will not have the time to produce the necessary agents to produce a strong immune system, and this will, in turn, affect the general health of your child.
Safety
Most babies and infants are explorers. After all, they are still new to this world, and including their own bodies, most things are exciting to them. Babies who are deprived of enough sleep will be extra jumpy, restless, and unnecessarily excited (positivehealthwellness.com). This means their chances of engaging in destructive behavior is higher. Therefore, they are more likely to hurt themselves, as well as those around them. Conversely, when a baby has had enough sleep, in as much as he or she is an adventurer, he or she will be much calmer. This will reduce their chances of hurting themselves or those around them.
Emotional and Psychological Stability
Babies who don’t get enough sleep are likely to experience depression and anxiety all the way to their adult years. It has been determined that there are adults who think that the sleeping, psychological, and emotional issues they are undergoing are as a result of their adult behaviors or even preferences, but the truth is that it’s the effect of a cause that dates all the way to when they were babies.
A baby’s sleeping pattern is best set or determined within the first six months of his or her life on earth (parents.com). Therefore, this is the best time to set the routine that your baby will be sleeping. Routine is good both for you, the parent, and as indicated in the foregoing paragraph, the baby. The parent will get to know when to sleep, as well as the child. And this will save the baby any future psychological or emotional disorders.
Weight Loss
Emotional and psychological stability are not the only conditions that have been traced back to the baby days; the ability to accumulate fat is also in the mix. It has been determined that obesity and fat acquisition are conditions that can be traced back to the baby days of an individual (positivehealthwellness.com). Apparently, babies who get enough sleep will grow up to develop bodies that won’t retain fat unnecessarily, while those who lack enough sleep will grow up to have bodies that store unnecessary fat that will cause them to be fat, or at extremes, obese.
The Parent Also Benefits
According to Get Best Mattress, how well you sleep is determined by the bed you sleep in. But sleep deprivation is a must for most parents, especially single parents or those who raise their babies with little help from either their partners or others. When your baby gets enough sleep, it means that you too will be able to get out of your dirty mommy clothes, take a shower, perhaps do some non-baby related cleaning, and even get some sleep before the baby is up again. And if you have developed a good routine for your baby, you will be able to tell when what will happen. It’ll give you the kind of control that will enable you to ensure you get enough rest, and your baby grows up to be a healthy, and happy individual.
