Why Your Child's Night Light Is Ruining Their Sleep

As parents, we always feel that the decisions made by us for our kids are perfect and shouldn’t be judged or questioned. But it is really important to impart scientific parenting skills to give your kids a smooth childhood. We try to add entertainment to a child’s routine with multiple products, and to be honest these products are not always safe for babies as they affect their natural cycle. One of the biggest mistakes we make as parents is disturbing the sleep of a child due to night light and variety of other reasons.

We all know that sleep is a vital part of an infant’s life, and not getting that proper sleep time affects their health and growth in multiple ways. And in reality they actually slow down the maturing of their muscles. Apart from this sleep deprivation. It also affects the memory, behavior, energy, and emotions of an individual.

Talking of the nightlights, these are purchased with a mindset that they shall help the baby fall into a deep sleep by making the environment cozy. Whereas the reality might be very astonishing as these lights are responsible for causing disturbance to a child’s sleep. These nightlights cause trouble when left overnight.

If we go into details then scientists say that nightlights, glow lights, and light shows cause harmful effects to a body due to differing wavelengths’ passing through our body while sleeping.

Let us now get down to actual science: Melatonin is a hormone which is secreted by our brain in response to the sensitivity of eyes due to light while sleeping. And this is the hormone which is responsible for causing drowsiness. It is important for the body to produce Melatonin as it equips the babies to sleep for long hours. Whereas keeping any kind of light switched on can make the body produce the hormone of alertness, Cortisol; thus disturbing the sleep of a baby.

And it is by using blue, green, and white lights to give a mood to the child for sleeping actually makes their brains get bluffed in believing that it’s still daytime and the time to stay awake.

If we are talking of lights now, then it is important for all of us to know that nightlights aren’t the only things that hamper sleep. Light emitted through the screens of cell phones, laptops, television, and tablets also cause similar sleep disorders.

I believe that now all the readers must be wondering what they should switch to red lights as they have no affects on the sleep. And of course it’s true; red lights are the most appropriate for a child’s room as they have the highest wavelength out of all the colors and according to research does not cause any hindrance to the brain while secreting hormones and also don’t help the child with sleep. But sadly, this research is of no significance as nurseries still haven’t switched to red lights from the blue, white, and green ones.

If you are still wondering whether you should choose the best nightlights for kids or not then the answer is here. According to biology, it is best to go lightless then opting for artificial lights. It is best to let a baby sleep in a dark space with no extra light as in some way or the other does affect the sleep of a child. Although, the core focus shouldn’t only be with the lights while sleeping but also lights exposed to a child before his/her sleeping hours.

Parents should pay keen attention to what kind of bathroom lights they use before putting the baby on the bed as these are very much bright and hit the baby in their eyes. The best way to improve the lighting before bedtime is to switch to dim lights during that particular period. One trick of replacing these harsh lights is by using a lamp with a red light.

Let us finish up by learning a little more about- ‘how you can give your child a sleep-friendly environment’.

Make it a rule that there should be no exposure to screens at least 2 hours before bedtime.
For evenings switch to battery-operated laps or bulbs of red and orange colors.
Shut all your curtains and also dim the lights of the living area by 7 pm at max.
Don’t fool the biological clock of the body by using blackouts, and make sure that the baby takes the naps during the daylight.
Get a lamp with red lights and place it in the child’s bedroom for a cozy effect which is of course harmless.
If the room of the baby consists of monitors with blinking lights, tape them up with a red tape for better sleep.