{"id":22393,"date":"2020-11-16T15:25:58","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T14:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/segreti-nanna\/capitolo-7-accompagnare-alla-nanna-2\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T16:27:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T15:27:48","slug":"chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep","status":"publish","type":"segreti-nanna","link":"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although falling asleep and sleep characteristics during the early months of life are largely governed by innate physiological mechanisms and genetic predispositions, <strong> parents can support their child\u2019s development with attentive care\u2014helping them mature quickly and overcome small challenges along the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Understanding the differences between adult and infant sleep structures makes it easier to intervene correctly and avoid mistakes. For example, during the extended REM sleep phase, babies may move and make noises. It\u2019s important to learn to tell when a baby is active but still asleep, and when they are truly awake\u2014so as not to touch or speak to them unnecessarily (18). Otherwise, all the effort made to help them fall asleep might be wasted by waking them too soon. This recommendation also applies during nighttime awakenings. It\u2019s not always the case that a baby needs help falling back asleep\u2014sometimes, if they manage to settle on their own, it\u2019s actually a sign of neurological development. <strong>That\u2019s why it&#8217;s best to watch for a few seconds without immediately picking them up at the first sign of stirring. Wait and see if they actually call for mom or dad\u2014if they need to.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As the baby grows, their biological rhythms gradually adapt to external environmental cues. For example, the sleep-wake cycle becomes increasingly synchronized with the natural alternation of day and night. However, during the first few weeks, the <strong>circadian rhythm<\/strong> (the internal clock that governs daily biological cycles) is still maturing. It will take time for the newborn to align their patterns with environmental stimuli.Among these stimuli, the most powerful is natural light: exposing the baby to sunlight during the day\u2014and reducing exposure to artificial lighting in the evening\u2014helps them adapt more quickly (19).<\/p>\n<p>Another proven strategy to help a child fall asleep is to establish a <strong>calming and reassuring bedtime routine<\/strong>, repeated consistently each evening. The purpose of this ritual is to help the baby understand that the day is ending, that night is beginning, and that mom and dad will remain close even during sleep, ready to welcome them upon waking.<\/p>\n\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"22102\" class=\"elementor elementor-22102 elementor-3769\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5d0203b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5d0203b\" data-element_type=\"section\" 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class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-fbf6952\" data-id=\"fbf6952\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f700803 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f700803\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Subscribe to the newsletter<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14891c3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"14891c3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Be the first to receive the latest news from the Baby Wellness Foundation!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-321b77a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"321b77a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/babywellnesslab.mibu-direct.com\/form\/generate.js?id=3\"><\/script>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<p>An American study (20) found that the benefits of this approach become evident after just three nights, with improvements in how quickly the baby falls asleep, fewer nighttime awakenings, and better moods for both baby and parents. Massage, gentle touches, a warm bath, reading a bedtime story, or singing a lullaby\u2014what matters most is not which specific activities are included, but rather the emotional availability of the adult. What makes the difference is being attuned to the baby\u2019s signals, understanding their emotional state, and responding to their needs with care and consistency.<\/p>\n<p>And what if, at the planned bedtime, the baby still doesn\u2019t fall asleep? Maybe it\u2019s just genuinely too early for them. In that case, it\u2019s better to wait until they show the first signs of sleepiness (21). In the following days, to help them fall asleep earlier, parents can try shortening or moving up the last nap of the day, so the baby is more tired by the scheduled bedtime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22218,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"titolo-articolo-nanna":[855],"class_list":["post-22393","segreti-nanna","type-segreti-nanna","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","titolo-articolo-nanna-a-good-sleep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep - Baby Wellness Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep - Baby Wellness Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although falling asleep and sleep characteristics during the early months of life are largely governed by innate physiological mechanisms and genetic predispositions, parents can support their child\u2019s development with attentive care\u2014helping them mature quickly and overcome small challenges along the way. Understanding the differences between adult and infant sleep structures makes it easier to intervene [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Baby Wellness Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-06T15:27:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/7_accompagnare-nanna-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"Admin Mibu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/\",\"name\":\"Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep - Baby Wellness Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/7_accompagnare-nanna-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-16T14:25:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-06T15:27:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/7_accompagnare-nanna-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/7_accompagnare-nanna-1.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/\",\"name\":\"Baby Wellness Foundation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep - Baby Wellness Foundation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/babywellnessfoundation.org\/en\/segreti-nanna\/chapter-7-helping-the-baby-fall-asleep\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chapter 7 \u2013 Helping the Baby Fall Asleep - Baby Wellness Foundation","og_description":"Although falling asleep and sleep characteristics during the early months of life are largely governed by innate physiological mechanisms and genetic predispositions, parents can support their child\u2019s development with attentive care\u2014helping them mature quickly and overcome small challenges along the way. 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