A common sleep challenge that we see is little ones getting too cold, particularly in the second half of the night. Let’s talk TOG, layers + other tips to stay warm so that you can keep your little one sleeping soundly and warm throughout the entire night.
The trickiest part about the cooler weather is that it’s not always cold at the beginning of the night but regardless of the temp at the beginning of the night we recommend to dress your little one for the coldest part of the night. The night is at it’s coldest around 4/5am when the outside temperature drops to it’s lowest. While your little one is sleeping their body temperature will drop too. If you are worried about dressing your little one too warm at bedtime here are a couple of suggestions:
- Dress your little one warm but run their ceiling fan or cooling for a couple of hours or until you go to bed for the night.
- Dress your little one warm but don’t turn their heater on until you go to bed or set their heater timer to come on in the second half of the night
- If your little one still wakes for a night feed dress them in a lighter sleeping bag at bedtime and swap the bag over before or after your night feed
While we don’t want nursery’s to get too cold we definitely don’t want them too hot either. That feeling of walking into a room and it being “toasty” is usually an indication that it’s a little on the warmer side. A comfortable room temperature is between 19-22 degrees Celsius. In the winter we recommend that you warm the room with a safe heater and keep the heater a safe distance from the sleep space to avoid overheating. Oil column heaters are often recommended for children’s bedrooms (we prefer them ourselves too). In our experience most littles ones sleep comfortably with their rooms warmed to 20/21 (no more than 22 degrees).
We’ve found the below to be the sweet spot for room temp and what to wear in the cooler months (trialled by us for years with our own little ones and many of our clients).
⭐ Rooms warmed to between 20-21 degrees (no more than 22 degrees) throughout the night.
⭐ Continuing to use a sleep bag for little ones sleeping in a cot and a sleep suit or TOG rated PJ’s for little ones bed sleeping and who DON’T keep a blanket on.
⭐ In 20-22 degrees you are going to need a 2.5 TOG sleep bag / sleep suit + a full length onesie / PJ. If your little one runs cooler you may also need a vest / short sleeve bodysuit under PJ’s.
Still think your little one might be cold? If you notice any of the below, they might be:
- Moving all around the cot
- Banging into the side of the cot
- Arms and legs poking through the rails
- Restless sleeping
- Rolling onto tummy with hands tucked underneath
- Waking between 4/5am
If your little one is doing any of the above – check their body warmth. Test the back of their neck or their chest area to see if they feel warm to touch (cheeks and hands aren’t the best indicator). If your little one feels neither warm or cold they are probably too cold so you could increase the heater by a degree or two, use a warmer sleep bag or add an extra layer underneath your little ones PJ’s (vest, bodysuit etc).
When purchasing a sleep bag/suit you will be given a guide on how to layer your baby or toddler depending on the room temperature. Just remember you need to layer them for the coolest part of the night and it’s important to know these guides are a general guide only. The best way to judge whether your little one needs less or more clothing is to keep an eye on their sleep and check their body warmth. It can be a little trial and error but you’ll find the sweet spot.
We hope these tips help to keep your little one comfortably sleeping day and night during the cooler months
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How to keep your little one warm throughout the night?