How to Use Light to Help Your Baby Create a Sleep Schedule

Why does your baby fight sleep during nap time or at night? Babies haven’t fully developed their circadian rhythms yet, which is why they often have erratic sleep patterns. This is one of the most formative times in their lives and creating a circadian rhythm is crucial to their development. Parents often find themselves trying everything in the book to establish a consistent sleep schedule for their little ones. By understanding light and the circadian rhythm, you can help your baby find their ideal sleep schedule.

The Power of Light and Sleep for Babies

Sunlight is nature’s gift to establishing a healthy sleep-wake pattern. Exposing your baby to natural light during the day helps set their internal clock and makes it easier for them to distinguish between day and night.

Morning Light: In the morning, take your baby outside for a walk for at least 30 minutes. This exposure to bright morning light helps signal the start of the day and triggers the release of cortisol, promoting your baby’s alertness and sleep-wake cycle.

Afternoon and Daytime Naps: Your baby will nap longest in the dark. If they are sleeping so much during the day that they aren’t sleeping enough at night, try adding light to the room where your baby naps. This will reinforce stronger circadian rhythms and encourage sleeping through the night faster.

Limit Blue Light at Night: As the evening approaches, minimize exposure to artificial light, especially from screens. Blue light and artificial light suppress melatonin which will make it harder for your baby to fall asleep. It can disrupt their circadian rhythm development, leading to serious health issues in the future. If your baby needs some sort of light to help them sleep at night, opt for an amber or red light that emits no blue light hues like SKYVIEW. SKYVIEW’s sleep mode doesn’t suppress melatonin, which can help your baby wind down and prepare them for a restful night’s sleep.

Bringing Outdoor Light In: Natural light isn’t always available in everyone’s home, and we don’t always have the time to take walks during the day. Adding a SKYVIEW to your baby’s routine can help create that ideal sleep schedule because unlike standard indoor lighting and color-tuning lights, SKYVIEW works on a biological level. SKYVIEW’s light shifts throughout the day to target the melanopsin in the eye that helps regulate the body’s internal clock.

Creating a Calming Bedtime Routine

A consistent bedtime routine is crucial for babies to understand that it’s time to wind down and prepare for sleep. While light exposure helps during the day, you should focus on creating a soothing atmosphere before bedtime.

Light: So, what’s the best color light to help your baby sleep? Long story short, color is only part of the picture, it’s about spectrum as well. Yes, warm amber or red lights are preferred colors for sleep, however, color-tuning lights don’t consider the invisible wavelengths that can keep your baby up at night. Standard lighting, even color-tuning lights, were designed for the home and not biology. Our bodies can’t tell the difference between daytime and night with these lights. They put out wavelengths that are too long in the evening for our bodies to recognize it’s nighttime. That’s why SKYVIEW is one-of-a-kind, it puts out wavelengths that fluctuate and mimics what natural light does throughout the day, so you’re always getting the right light at the right time.

Calm Activities: Engage your baby in quiet and relaxing activities before bedtime, such as reading a story or singing lullabies. This promotes a sense of security and comfort, easing the transition to sleep.

Consistency is Key: Stick to the same bedtime routine every night. Repetition helps babies anticipate what’s coming next, making them feel more secure and ready for slumber.

How to Use Light to Help Your Baby Create a Sleep Schedule

The Power of Light and Sleep for Babies

Creating a Calming Bedtime Routine

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