Your Baby’s Sleep in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Your baby’s brain develops while they are sleeping. They need sleep to:

• Regulate hormones for brain development and physical growth
• Store energy needed for growth
• Develop hearing, touch, vision, taste and smell
• Learn and build memory
• Develop the limbic system (the brain’s center for emotional learning about new experiences)
• Help keep vital signs, such as pulse and temperature, stable

REM sleep (also called active sleep) only happens during uninterrupted sleep. Your infant needs plenty of REM sleep for brain development. During REM sleep, important sensory information is organized into permanent learning pathways and connections that your baby will use throughout their lifetime to understand the world around them. Uninterrupted sleep also helps:

• Conserve energy
• Lower agitation and stress
• Promote your baby’s growth

Below are some tips to help your baby sleep while they are in the hospital. If you have questions or concerns about your baby’s sleep, please talk to your doctor or others on your health care team.

• Be with your baby whenever you can but check with your nurse about your baby’s wake-up time. Allow your baby to sleep until then. If your baby is sleeping, get to know your baby by sitting and watching without touching. This will help you learn your baby’s cues.
• Warm your hands before touching your baby. Touch your baby slowly and gently, but keep steady pressure rather than stroking your baby. Keep your hands still until you are sure your baby will enjoy other kinds of touch. Just start by holding hands or cradling their head and bottom.
• Talk in a soft voice, shut isolette doors gently and shade the baby’s eyes from bright overhead lights.
• Provide skin-to-skin care (kangaroo care) to your baby.

Revised with permission. © 2014, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, Patient Education. All rights reserved. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is not responsible for any consequences resulting from the use or misuse of the information in this handout.