Newborns, just like adults, receive significant benefits from a good rest: to sleep well also means to grow strong and healthy!
A recent study carried out in Germany has however demonstrated how healthy sleep habits can have a decisive impact on infants’ ability to memorize names and object shapes. Here are the extraordinary effects of sleep on your baby’s brain development!
What happens when your baby sleeps?
A baby’s brain is really amazing: just think that a 6-month old child is already able to associate a sound with a specific word.
This is why scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science have decided to test these impressive skills in order to understand how rest can affect the development of a newborn.
What has research shown?
After selecting a group of babies with ages ranging from 6 to 8 months, they were then shown pictures of totally invented subjects to which fake names were given in order to guarantee that none of the children had ever been exposed to the same images or sounds before.
Their brain activity was then monitored thanks to special electroencephalograms.
Here’s why your baby should always sleep greatly!
After the first exposure to the image, none of the newborns were able to associate the sound of the name with a given object.
But a short nap was enough to soon memorize the sound associated to its corresponding object! But that’s not all: some of the newborns extended their rest for almost an hour and their ability to associate an object with its correct name was even better.
Scientists, in fact, tried changing the color of the object but none of the children got fooled!
Choose a healthy rest for your baby!
A baby has special needs: carefully choose the right bed, mattress and pillow. And don’t forget to stimulate your child’s brain as much as possible starting from his or her first months of life.
A great and beautiful habit is to read something to your child before going to sleep: check out where to find the best fairy tales for a good night!
