It may take time for a newborn baby's body clock to adjust.

In Europe Matin, doctor Jimmy Mohamed, health consultant for Europe 1, explains how to put the odds in your favor so that baby can get through his nights as quickly as possible ... and you find yours again!

Every morning, from Monday to Friday, Doctor Jimmy Mohamed, health consultant of Europe 1, gives you his advice to manage sores and other small everyday infections.

This Monday, he comes to the aid of parents who are a little desperate because their baby does not sleep through the night.

Meal, bedtime, little story before sleeping, nap, night light ... he gives you his tips to optimize your child's nights, and therefore yours!

Are sleep disturbances that common among young children? 

"Yes, it's more common than you think. 30% of children do not sleep through their nights and will have trouble sleeping. The problem is that a child who does not sleep c t is more drowsiness for moms and dads, and therefore an increased risk of marital problems and anxiety disorders.

How many hours of sleep can a baby be considered to sleep through the night? 

A baby who makes his nights is a baby who will have uninterrupted sleep, without awakening signaled to parents, between midnight and 5 a.m.

So if your child sleeps for five hours, it's a first victory, you can consider that he is sleeping through his nights.

At birth, the body clock does not work very well.

The newborn is not sensitive to melatonin, this hormone which makes it possible to fall asleep.

That is to say that during the first month of life, it is normal for a baby not to sleep and it is to be expected that his rhythm will be a little anarchic.

On the other hand, from three months, a baby is able to sleep through the night.

And if, after six months, he does not do them, it is because the parents have a responsibility.

Fortunately, it is possible to train children to acquire this biological clock. 

>> Find Jimmy Mohamed's chronicle in replay and podcast here

How can we help our child's biological clock to establish a day / night rhythm?

The first piece of advice is that during the day you have to play with the children, and then, in the evening, you have to leave them alone and stimulate them less.

During the day, do not hesitate not to leave them in total darkness during the nap.

Leave a small light so that the biological clock understands that it is still daytime.

When you give them the evening meal, choose starchy foods, because a child who is not stalled will tend to wake up, torn by hunger.

Avoid sugar which may cause awakenings at night, because the child will be thirsty. 

How to fight bedtime anxiety?

The evening ritual is very important.

Always try to put your child to bed at the same time, and always repeating the same protocol: we take the bath, we change the diaper, we put on the pajamas and we read a little story.

This ritual must be short, otherwise there is a risk of aggravating the anxiety of separation.

In 30% of cases, the baby's bad nights are the responsibility of the parents because they are linked to poor conditioning. 

Do I have to run systematically every time my child wakes up in the night?

A baby has several sleep cycles at night.

Between each cycle, the child will have a micro-alarm clock.

The problem is that if you put him to sleep in a bottle or at the breast, if you rocked him, if you ever put him in your bed while he falls asleep, he will seek, during his micro-alarm clocks, to find the situation that allowed him to fall asleep.

He may therefore tend to cry from time to time.

In this case, it is necessary to apply a deconditioning, that is to say, let him cry so that he learns to fall asleep independently. "