Most parents have tried everything they can think of to get their baby to sleep. After all, if your baby is sleeping, it means you get more sleep too! Sleep deprivation is brutal.
Recently we had a baby who we were working through our Sleep Assessment with. And there was one thing that made a huge impact on the baby’s sleep!
Want to know this one little secret…?
This baby began sleeping through once his mother switched off the wifi for his naps!
How might this work?
Research has shown that exposure to mobile phone and wifi electromagnetic radiation during pregnancy caused oxidative stress in the mother’s uterus as well as the baby, which lasted into well their childhood development. The oxidative stress appears to be worse in the brain (but is also found in the liver and kidney).
What does this mean for your baby’s sleep?
Oxidative stress in the brain has been linked to reduced sleep. This relationship is bidirectional – which means the less sleep you have, the more oxidative stress in the brain, which can then lead to less sleep again. Picture the baby or toddler who seems a bit wired, is hard to get to sleep, won’t stay asleep, and then starts dropping their day sleeps too! (And yes, this also applies to your brain when you’re sleep deprived).
How do I reduce wifi exposure?
Whilst we’re not saying wifi is the cause of sleepless nights in all children, it’s a painless thing to give a try that won’t have any negative risks associated.
Here’s our top tips for reducing the impact of wifi and similar frequencies:
• Stop using your mobile around your baby, especially when settling them to sleep
• Don’t allow your mobile to be sitting close to your baby in the pram or carrier (or if it must be, turn it onto airplane mode)
• Switch off the house wifi system when you go to bed at night – even better if you can do it during your baby’s day sleeps too
• Ensure the house’s router, smart meter and other electronic devices are as far as possible away from your baby’s sleeping location
There are a myriad of reasons why babies may not sleep, so this little trick isn’t going to work for everyone. But given it’s so easy to do and has no risks associated it’s definitely worth a shot!
You can also check for EMF around your baby’s sleeping environment with a simple tri-field meter. These can be purchased cheaply and can tell you if there is any EMF that might be present.
If sleep doesn’t change with this little trick, then always best to have bub assessed to find the cause of sleep disturbance.
References:
Yüksel, M. et al. “Long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones and Wi-Fi devices decreases plasma prolactin, progesterone, and estrogen levels but increases uterine oxidative stress in pregnant rats and their offspring.” Endocrine, vol. 52, no. 2, 2015, pp. 352-62. Celik, O., M.C. Kahya and M. Naziroglu. “Oxidative stress of brain and liver is increased by Wi-Fi (2.45GHz) exposure of rats during pregnancy and the development of newborns.” Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy, vol. 75, pt. B, 2015, pp. 134-9.
A bidirectional relationship between sleep and oxidative stress in Drosophila, Published: July 12, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2005206