Do Babies Need a Night Light?
If your little one is waking up in the middle of the night (and which newborn doesn’t?), you may be wondering if their sleep is being disrupted by the turning on and off of lights. Perhaps you just have some questions about how dark their room should be at night.
Whatever the case may be, could a night light help your baby sleep better?
The answer isn’t black-and-white, so let’s explore the realm of possibilities and find what works best for your baby.
Do Babies Need Night Lights?
There are potential pros and cons associated with the use of infant night lights. Light plays such a massive role in the quality of their sleep, and it’s important you understand the considerations before making a decision one way or the other.
Impact on Circadian Rhythm
During this time, your baby is just now getting used to the concept of night and day. Remember, not too long ago they lived their entire lives in a dark womb. Their bodies are still falling into a proper circadian rhythm, and you don’t want that disrupted. In order to ensure your baby is sleeping on a more regular schedule, making sure their room is dark enough is essential.
Opening up the blinds a bit to let in some natural light during the day is very beneficial, signaling to your baby that they are to stay awake during this time. In the evenings, they’ll subconsciously notice the lack of that light and get sleepy in part due to the trigger of melatonin production. They’ll be more likely to stay asleep if their environment is dark, too.
However, when said environment is lit up, that melatonin production is inhibited.
Night Lights Can Help
Night lights are much different than turning on an overhead light to a room. Night lights are much softer and dimmer, which can even be soothing. They’re also a big help to parents who’ve fallen over a diaper bin or toy while trying to navigate their baby’s room in the dark to avoid waking them up. If you share a room with your little one, night lights can be a life saver!
Night lights can offer enough illumination to help with night feedings, diaper changes, and other nighttime requirements. However, they’re still dim enough that it won’t interfere with your baby’s sleep.
Tips For Using A Baby Night Light
To maximize benefits for both you and your baby, we have a few tips for using a night light that might be a big help.
1. Try To Camouflage It
Instead of plugging in the light right in the open, try to disguise it a bit behind some furniture, toys, or other objects. This will help reduce the impact of the light, diffusing it to offer a glowing illumination without standing out like a flare in the center of the room. Babies are very much intrigued by lights, and you may find them staring at the light instead of sleeping if you don’t try to tuck it away from their line of sight.
2. Basic Is Best
When it comes to babies, basic is always better when it comes to food, clothing, toys, and night lights. When shopping around, you may find some that play music, project patterns, and basically do everything short of throwing a rave in your baby’s bedroom.
While they certainly look cool, none of those features are going to help your baby fall into a healthy sleep pattern. Music and stimulation are fantastic for their development, but try to turn all of that off at least an hour before you lay them down for bed.
3. Try Red Lights
As we mentioned already, light exposure at the wrong time can disrupt the production of melatonin which disrupts their circadian rhythm and keeps your bundle of joy awake at night. However, red light is incredibly safe and shouldn’t mess with sleep. In fact, studies suggest that red light can help produce melatonin, regulate circadian rhythm, and even combat the negative effects of blue light exposure.
If you already have a night light and are fine with a DIY alternative, you can swap out the bulb with a red Christmas bulb.
You could also try a white noise machine to help your baby sleep better at night. Discover everything you need to know about that here: How Loud Should a White Noise Machine Be for a Baby?
4. Use Your Intuition
As we’ve mentioned throughout, lights can be disruptive to a good night’s sleep, but that doesn’t mean that a nightlight is going to be detrimental. Some infants love super dark rooms, while others do better with a bit more illumination.
You know your baby best, so don’t be afraid to use your judgment!.
Do Babies Need To Nap In The Dark?
Babies have the best sleep in the dark, as light stimulates the brain and tells them to stay awake. However, there will undoubtedly be times where that’s not always a possibility and you’ll want your baby to have the flexibility to fall asleep when there is some light in the room.
If the room isn’t pitch black, there’s no need to worry as long as your baby is sleeping well. If you do notice they’re having shorter naps or waking up super early, a dark room can help extend sleep time.
The great thing about babies is that there are processes that they accomplish around certain times. There are also many other reasons why your baby could be sleeping for shorter periods of time. When babies reach a certain age, they’ll be ready to make the transition to fewer naps during the day, for example.
To minimize guesswork, you can use helpful apps such as Baby Connect. This app is perfect for tracking daily information about your baby, such as how long they’ve been sleeping and how many times per day. From there, you can determine if a night light is helping their sleep and make sure they have the best rest possible for healthy growth and development.
