Are Noise Machines Bad for Babies?

Getting enough sleep is challenging for everyone who is adjusting to a different environment. Adults can get a little cranky thinking of possible ways they could do just to either get themselves to sleep or keep themselves awake for the day.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen the same way as for babies and infants. Unlike adults, they can’t just grab a cup of coffee or drink a sleeping pill. They need extra care and attention for you to address their sleeping needs.

Understanding the Impact of Noise Machines on Baby Sleep

When babies are born, they are put into a whole new environment that is so much different from their little happy place inside their mother’s womb. It becomes difficult for them to adjust to these changes. And one of the greatly affected activities is their sleep.

Babies sleep most of the time inside their mother’s womb and need a lot more when they come out. But getting them enough sleep can be a real challenge for newborn parents. They get frequent irritability and fussiness which is most of the time difficult to understand.

Newborn parents have to put extra care and attention to understand their baby’s needs whether it’s food or sleep. When it comes to sleeping, some parents would need different ways and alternatives to put their precious ones to bed.

Noise machines have been the greatest for parents in recent years when it comes to putting their babies to sleep. It is known to help babies adjust to the changes in their environment and get enough good sleep.

However, some parents are still hesitant to purchase these products due to the fear of their side effects on their babies. Some may ask – How can getting enough sleep help my baby?

They would also ask if it’s really necessary to purchase a noise machine. Then, if it has any bad effects on your babies. Don’t worry, here are some facts to help you think of what is best for your little bundles of joy!

Benefits of Enough Sleep for Babies

Sleeping is an important factor in your child’s development. Getting enough sleep can help their system and abilities develop well and avoid illness and diseases. Here are a few of the benefits of sleeping for your babies so that we can understand that sleeping is more than just resting.

Sleep Reduces Baby’s Risk of Becoming Overweight

Soothing a baby can sometimes get very challenging especially when you have to differentiate and address their distress cues. Oftentimes, the initial assessment that you might have is hunger. You feed them a bottle of milk when they start getting fussy.

However, this should not always be the case. A study from Penn State Children’s Hospital shows that the parents’ lack of awareness in identifying these distress cues can contribute to their babies gaining weight. Understanding your baby’s distress cues and knowing when they need to sleep can have a good impact on its weight.

Babies need to sleep as much as they need to eat. Focusing on your baby’s sleeping pattern and needs, and balancing it with their food needs would help them have a good weight. Moreover, babies that are not overfed tend to have better sleep.

Sleep Helps Their Growth

Yes, it is true. Sleeping can promote the growth of your children. Doctors have proved that growth hormones are mostly secreted when your baby is in a deep sleep. Thus, your baby needs to sleep at least 50% of the time to help their growth.

A study by an Italian researcher shows growth deficiency in children that have lack sleep. To avoid such problems, it is best to get them to sleep as much as they need.

Sleep Helps Fight Virus

Cytokines are proteins that are produced by the body during sleep. This helps in fighting certain infections, stress, and illness. It can fight viruses and bacteria that could lead to cases of flu, colds, and other serious health problems.

Getting enough sleep means the body could produce a good amount of cytokines to fight viruses. Thus, your baby must get enough sleep especially since they are still adjusting to the different organisms around them.

Sleep Helps Baby’s Brain

Brain development happens faster when asleep. Studies have shown that the connection between the left and right hemispheres of your baby’s brain develops when they are asleep.

Brain activities of your baby, while they are asleep, can contribute to their psychological, intellectual, and physical development.

Babies and children who get enough sleep can aid them to have better mental abilities such as memory, language, and cognitive development when they grow up.

How Much Sleep Babies Need

As people get older, the number of hours for sleep decreases. This means that babies and infants need more sleep than adults do.

Babies Ages 0 to 4 Months

Newborns need more sleep than the rest. They must sleep for 3 to 4 hours at a time which should add up to a total of 18 hours a day. Your baby will have longer sleep when they grow up, thus it is normal if they wake up in the middle of the night for some milk.

Babies sleep for shorter hours in their first months so keeping them awake during the day does not guarantee a longer sleep at night. This would only make them overtired and it could decrease their energy.

Infants Ages 5 to 12 Months

Babies ages 5 – 12 months need 14 hours a day of sleep. Do not worry if they exceed this standard or get a little lesser than that because that is normal. There are no exact definite hours that fit every infant, the important thing is that you put them to sleep as much as you could.

Between these ages, your little one might have 2 – 3 naps depending on how long it is respectively. They will also have longer sleep at night which is a great thing for you, too! You just have to make sure to have a regular nap and bedtime schedule so that your infants could get used to it.

You may also start training them for self-soothing. If they wake up at night, try to not carry them. Instead, make them feel your presence by speaking to them or softly touching them. This could help them be less dependent on you when it comes to sleeping.

How Noise Machines Help

Through the help of noise machines, babies and infants can easily fall asleep and have a deep peaceful slumber. Believe it or not, tip-toeing and whispering are not the best way to put them to sleep, rather some noise would do the job.

Babies are used to the sound of their mother’s heart and body while they are inside the womb. This gives them comfort and peace. Thus, mimicking a womb-like noise could help you put your baby to sleep.

Noise machine mimics do not have a particular frequency and pitch. It mimics the sound inside the mother’s womb which is somehow closer to a humming sound or the sound of your air-conditioner at home. It may sound creepy for adults but it is effective for your little ones.

Aside from its soothing sound, noise machines can also block unwanted and sudden noises that may disturb your baby’s sleep. Turning it on at a minimum sound level at a 7 meters distance from where your baby sleeps is the key. This makes it enough and safe for your baby to hear and enough for you to still do your usual routine at home.

Advantages Of Using Noise Machines

Purchasing a noise machine would help at home. It could lessen your anxiety about the amount of sleep your baby is getting. However, it needs you to take full responsibility on how to not put your baby’s development at risk.

It might interfere with your baby’s development. Sleeping has a lot of benefits for your baby’s development and the least that you want is to purchase something that could interfere with it. The use of noise machines must not be done every single time your baby sleeps.

Try to practice using different alternatives in putting your baby to sleep. Using noise machines every time would affect their hearing and auditory development. Also, make sure to avoid putting it close to them or louder as it should.

It could make your baby too reliant on noise machines. As pleasing as it is, noise machines must not be the only way to put your baby asleep. They could probably get so reliant on it that they could not fall asleep without its noise.

Being dependent on noise machines can become troublesome when you are traveling, on a vacation, or even when your baby gets older. It would be difficult for you to then sleep train them without it.

It can ironically affect their sleeping routine. Noise machines are not for everyone. Not all babies can fall deeply asleep with the use of it. Rather, it might make them a little irritable and uneasy.

Introducing noise machines to your baby at a later age (around 6 to 12 months) might not be effective when they have already learned a different alternative for them to sleep. If your baby does not positively respond to the purpose of noise machines, that is normal and there is nothing wrong with your baby.

Takeaway

Surely, you would love to see your little angel have a peaceful and deep sleep. At the end of the day, all you want for your baby is to get everything that they need to improve their development.

Using noise machines can be a great help for you. It could help you put them to sleep with fewer worries. There might be some disadvantages but they can surely be avoided if you use noise machines accordingly and safely.