Many mothers use music and lullabies to put their baby to sleep, but what if the baby is very active, excited and not going to bed despite the late hour? Sleep experts recommend using white noise. It can be the sounds of nature, the buzzing of a vacuum cleaner and others. They are no less effective than mother's lullaby. Thanks to white noise, the child calms down, stops crying. It can become your magic lifesaver.
What is this?
White noise is a uniform background sound. It does not carry any information, which is why over time a person simply stops noticing it. White noise is the sound of rustling leaves, raindrops, road noise, the hiss of a radio or TV, the quiet hum of a vacuum cleaner, the sound of the sea, rain, hair dryer or washing machine.
As ironic as it may sound, noise can help your little one fall asleep.
How it works
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's just a monotonous hum. It is these sounds that resemble those that the baby heard while in the womb. It affects the childsimply: he remembers that serene state, soft swaying, subdued light, monotonous hum. White noise is a memory of the calmest and safest place. It effectively soothes babies in the first months of life. Special observations were made, during which it was proved that the process of falling asleep occurs three times faster not in complete silence.
Why does this only work in the first months of life?
White noise, the sound of life bubbling around is very useful at any age during daytime sleep. The baby eventually forgets about the sensations in the mother's stomach. But white noise is still good for the baby.
You should not specifically include music with recordings of such sounds, just 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?
Sound, especially loud, prevents children from sleeping at the age of three or four months, in principle, like adults. What is it about in this case? Conversations in the next room, passing cars, repair work of neighbors. White noise is essential to help your baby fall asleep and enter deep slow sleep. In this case, quiet sounds are not heard, and loud sounds are not perceived as violently.
Especially in need of very active children who react to any rustle. They are so interested in being awake that there is no time left for sleep. During deep sleep, the threshold for perceiving sounds is lowered, but still some children can hear them, then sleep will become superficial or even interfere. It could bea slamming door, a barking dog, a car alarm, conversations, a working TV, a familiar tune, and so on. However, white noise is very beneficial for babies.
He althy sleep
As you know, babies 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 to the body of the crumbs. White noise for newborns is necessary to prolong sleep, so your child will be much more cheerful, active, and inquisitive during wakefulness.
Rules and selection of suitable sounds
As you know from the course of physics, white noise is a random process. There are a lot of such sounds, which one your baby will like - it's hard to say. You need to proceed by trial and error. In addition, you need to know some rules:
- Do not allow sounds for more than twenty-five minutes.
- Locate the source at least a meter away from the crib.
- Do not exceed the volume limit (50 decibels).
Regarding the first point. If the baby constantly sleeps to these sounds, then in the future it will be difficult to wean him from this. If you bought a special white noise generator, it will automatically turn off after twenty to twenty-five minutes. The third point must be observed, otherwise it will lead to a disorder in the hearing aid and the mental he alth of your child.
White noise and breastfeeding
No matter how it soundsstrange, but special sounds will help you and your baby when breastfeeding, if the baby refuses to breastfeed. It often happens that the child arches, cries, refusing to take the breast, 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 feeding problems, this option may help.
Moreover, now everyone has smartphones, you rarely see a black and white push-button telephone. You can download a lot of free applications with these sound effects. Does anyone like this option? There are many toys that generate white noise. Also, babies like to listen to the radio on an empty frequency, that is, hiss.
Natural white noise
Try to get a small home waterfall, fountain, this sound will be more natural, maybe your baby will like it. Only in this case it is necessary to observe the rules mentioned above. It's just that some kids are so cunning that the sound of a real river can easily be distinguished from an artificial recording, then your salvation is a store where you can buy a homemade waterfall.
Benefits and harms
Among the useful properties of the phenomenon, scientists have found the following:
- normalization of sleep;
- stress reduction;
- good imprint on the nervous system;
- reducing 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 sound 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, hair dryer, washing machine, hissing TV or radio…
Artificial - these are recordings of any kind of white noise, less effective for the child. There is an opinion that it is even harmful to the child.
Hysterics
White noise helps many parents overcome a child's tantrum. If the baby does not like something, worries, use this method. A large number of mothers cope with the endless crying of the child only in this miraculous way.
Using white noise during intestinal colic will also help to cope with the problem, alleviate the suffering of the child, set him in a positive way.
Be sure to remember the rules of use. Long listening, although it will calm your baby, can be addictive, which is very harmful. If turned on loudly, it will have a bad effect on the mental he alth of the baby, there may be problems with the hearing aid.
When can I turn off? After twenty-five minutes, or maybe earlier, when the baby falls asleep well and soundly. At this time, the acuity of perception of sounds drops sharply. Then you can just go about your business. It's better if the baby sleepsunder household noise. Children and animals will be good helpers here. TV, radio and similar receivers only harm he althy sleep, as this noise carries information, the child hears familiar melodies, the conversation of strangers.
When used correctly, it is impossible to harm the child, use these tips, they will make your life much easier.
