The best colors for to decorate your child's bedroom as blue, green, pink, yellow or orange because these colors are mellow and non-stimulating, which cues the brain to start to relax and prepare for sleep.
Light and sleep
A darker room means less stimulation around your child. This will help calm and settle them. A darkened room also tells your child that it's time for rest. Once your child is in bed, they'll sleep better if the amount of light in the room stays the same while they're asleep.
Melatonin is the sleep hormone that helps the body control sleep cycles. Light breaks down melatonin, and consequently, babies will produce lower levels during the day when rooms tend to be brighter. Therefore, napping in a dark room will support this hormone, which in turn helps them fall and stay asleep.
What color light helps you sleep? Warm light is better for sleep because the eyes are less sensitive to the longer wavelengths in warm light. Light bulbs with a yellow or red hue and are best for bedside lamps.
The best night light colors for sleep are red and amber, as they are warm and soothing colors that promote a good night's sleep. It's thought that colors close to red on the light spectrum stimulate melatonin production. Red light has a lower color temperature than regular sunlight, making it ideal for sleep.
Pink brings strong positive energy into your environment. Mood-lifting yellow is another colour that belongs to the fire element. However, its light shades belong to the earth element.
Several studies suggest that light exposure at the wrong time can disrupt circadian rhythm and potentially impact your health. When your circadian rhythm is off, you can end up in a vicious cycle. You can't sleep well at night, and you feel tired and in need of a nap during the day.
Babies, sleep and red light
A red night light won't interfere with their circadian rhythm and melatonin production and they will see it as a calming, soothing, familiar environment. The added bonus is, it will make those night time feeds and nappy changes a little easier.
Red light and sleep
Red light wavelengths encourage your brain to produce melatonin. This naturally occurring hormone tells your body it's time to sleep. The darker it gets, the more your body releases to put you into REM and circadian rhythm. One study found that red light therapy helped improve sleep quality.
Is My Baby's Room Dark Enough. With my sleep consulting clients, I recommend darkening their child's bedroom to a 9 or 10 out of 10. That means that you can't see your hand in front of your face dark!
They concluded that "TV viewing among infants and toddlers is associated with irregular sleep schedules" for kids' bedtimes and naptimes. Many theories exist as to how television viewing might affect sleep. It may be that the bright lights of the television before sleep affects the sleep-wake cycle, they write.
Usually, the fear of the dark hits home for kids around the ages of 2 or 3, when they're old enough to imagine, but not wise enough to distinguish fantasy from reality, Berman says.
Protect yourself from blue light at night
Use dim red lights for night lights. Red light is less likely to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin. Avoid looking at bright screens beginning two to three hours before bed.
Blue Light Can Disrupt Infants' Sleep
In fact, even very dim blue light (100 lux) has been demonstrated to reduce melatonin production by 50% (Zeitzer, et al). For this reason, most pediatricians and pediatric associations recommend nursery lighting free from blue and green wavelengths.
Place the white noise machine as far away as possible from your baby's cot. Turn the volume down or alternately, don't turn it up to maximum. Only use for settling periods, no longer than an hour and turn off white noise once your baby is asleep. Try not to use a white noise machine for every sleep.
White noise is a key tool in the Happiest Baby sleep approach. It helps turn on your baby's calming reflex, or their built-in “reset button” to calm crying and bring on sleep. The best sound for calming fussing is a rough, slightly harsh noise that's as loud as your little one's crying.
Blue. Blue is perhaps the best color for your bedroom. Not only is it more muted, but blue tones also tend to have more calming effects on the brain, as shown in a 2018 study of blue walls in a university residence hall.
More so than any other color, blue light messes with your body's ability to prepare for sleep because it blocks a hormone called melatonin that makes you sleepy. Bottom line: You're less drowsy than usual at night, and it takes you longer to fall asleep.
Red light has no effect on the circadian clock, so you can use a dim red light at night. Yellow and orange light have little effect on the clock so you can use a very dim yellow or orange light at night.
Yellow is widely recognized as the happiest color in the world and comes with a scientific pedigree to back up this esteemed honor. Research has suggested two main reasons why yellow is considered the happiest color. Many studies have linked the psychological powers of yellow to the sun.
Blue – A highly peaceful color, blue can be especially helpful for stress management because it can encourage a powerful sense of calm. Purple – In many cultures, shades of violet represent strength, wisdom and peace. Purple can invoke a tranquil feeling that helps reduce stress.
Violet light has the shortest wavelength, and so it has the highest level of energy of visible light.
Most common baby fears
In newborn babies, common baby fears include loud noises, falling, separation from parents, and strangers. At this stage, babies can't distinguish between objects accurately enough to be scared by looking at them. However, loud noises trigger the startle reflex.
Night terrors take place during the deep sleep phase. Your baby may begin crying or even screaming suddenly if for some reason this stage is disrupted. It's likely more disturbing for you. Your baby doesn't know they're making such a commotion, and it's not something they'll remember in the morning.