Toronto Montessori teacher and mom of four Margaret Rezza knew right away that there was something different about the sleep patterns of her youngest child, Marietta. As with her older kids, Rezza had Marietta?s bassinet next to her bed at first for easy nighttime feedings, but her newest baby was a very light sleeper. ?I live in an old house, so if I would get out of bed after nursing and she was asleep, the creaking of the floor would startle her,? says Rezza.
Marietta, now four, stayed in her parents? room until she was four months old, by which point her problems with noise and light, and her tendency to wake whenever Rezza or her husband moved, had become a major issue. Even moving Marietta to the nursery didn?t help; though her room was quieter, the dim glow from a nightlight in the hallway was enough to disturb her. Creaky floors, ringing phones, a crack of daylight peeking around the edge of the blinds, even the dishwasher running a floor below?all of these things can mean the difference between a well-rested babe and a sleep-deprived family when you have a light sleeper on your hands. But why do some kids sleep more deeply than others" ?Some brains are better than others at blocking environmental stimuli during sleep,? explains Wendy Hall, a sleep researcher and professor at the University of British Columbia?s School of Nursing. ?Even during sleep, the brain receives sensory information.? While it?s difficult to make your baby less sensitive to noise or lig...