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Active evenings help babies' night sleep

Dr Pamela Douglas9th of Jul 202317th of May 2024

a caucasian baby playing in the bath

This page is part of a collection of short articles called Brief & simple, which together make up a quick summary of The Possums Sleep Program in plain language. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

To keep the settings of your baby's body clock healthy, it's best if evenings are like daytime, filled with light, noise and activity.

It's not necessary to dim the lights in the evening. When your baby's sleep pressure is high enough, they will fall off to sleep easily, with a quick feed or cuddle. We want to make your baby's sleep as easy and as no-fuss as possible!

If you baby doesn't want to go sleep in the evening, that's alright, try again later. The sleep pressure isn't high enough yet. When the sleep pressure is high, going to sleep becomes easy.

Acknowledgements

I'm grateful to Professor Sophie Havighurst, Ros June, and Caroline Ma at Mindful, The University of Melbourne, for their feedback on the articles in the Brief & simple section of The Possums Sleep Program. They helped to keep the language plain and the concepts as accessible as possible. For comprehensive information and support, please go to The essentials section of The Possums Sleep Program, and begin to work your way through the program's online text and videos.

Recommended resources

Will dim lights in the evening increase melatonin and make sleep easier for your baby?

Evening play (often noisy and excited) and other sensory adventures help with baby's sleep

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more articles in possums sleep 101 (brief & simple)

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    Introduction to this brief & simple section of The Possums Baby Sleep Program
  • 3

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    Key things to know about babies' sleep
  • 4

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    The dial on your baby's nervous system
  • 2

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    Babies' sleep needs
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