There are many factors that affect newborn sleep schedules. By understanding two hormones and establishing some daily routines, you can help your baby establish their biological clock and a foundation for good sleep. First, we’ll dig into the science of sleep, and then go into the day-to-day implementation.

Sleep is the primary activity of the developing brain. Read that again. Sleep is important for newborns, for toddlers, for children and for teenagers. Sleep is the primary activity of the developing brain. Sleep is where the magic happens.

Sleep is controlled by internal and external factors. Internal factors include hormones and somnogens – substances in your body that cause sleepiness. External factors such as light, noise, eating and daily routines. Both internal and external factors work together to set our circadian clock. 

Cortisol is another hormone involved in the sleep-wake cycle. It peaks in the early morning and is lowest between midnight and 4AM. Cortisol makes us feel alert and increases blood sugar and metabolism.

Throughout the first 6 months of life, cortisol and melatonin synchronize with the time of day to set the sleep-wake cycle. This is why establishing routines that reinforce daytime (sunlight exposure and activities) and nighttime (quiet and dark) in early infancy is important. 

If we were to describe nighttime we would most likely include “dark” and “quiet”. Why? Because light and noise wake us up, and are associated with daytime. This is especially true for babies, who cannot regulate their attention until around 6 months old. But you can teach the simple newborn sleep schedule: nighttime is dark and quiet for sleeping, and daytime is bright and busy for playing.

At night, do not:

• Change diapers
• Turn on lights
• Talk 
• Make eye contact

Of course, if the diaper leaked, your baby has diaper rash, or has had a poop you can change their diaper, but try to do so with minimal lighting and without noise. You can always make sure you did the perfect wipe in the morning and no, not every button on the PJ needs to be fastened. A dimmable and portable night-light, without blue light, can be helpful for feeds and for any emergency diaper changes.

You know that your baby recognizes your voice, but did you know that your voice is more likely to wake up your baby than a smoke alarm? And in baby language, eye contact means “let’s play!” So at night, no small talk. It’s business only – feed your baby and get them and yourself back to bed.

Your levels of melatonin and cortisol vary drastically throughout the day, and as discussed, they help control your sleep-wake cycle. But did you know that these hormones are also transferred in breastmilk? 

Bedtime milk has melatonin, morning milk has cortisol.

• Breastmilk produced in the middle of the night has 5-10 times more melatonin than daytime milk
• Breastmilk produced in the morning has 4 times more cortisol than milk produced around 6pm

Try to label morning milk and evening milk to give your baby the proper sleep-wake hormones. But, do not trash milk! We know how hard your worked to make that milk and all of the wonderful advantages that breastfeeding offers you and your baby. If you have already pumped some liquid gold and it is not labeled morning or nighttime milk – do not stress or trash it. If you can, just try to avoid giving it to them in the middle of the night.