Do You think fresh air each day makes babies healthier?

[cwolff]

My Father-in -Law insists upon it.  Unfortunately, I live in a hot climate and fresh air is not always possible.  But I have been taking her out more often.  She's getting over stomach flu, so not sure if the fresh air helped or hurt.  She does like it though, and I feel better not keeping her cooped up in the air conditioning every day.

[Katet]

I also live in a hot climate & over summer here on 40C days (104 F) I think), I used to go for walks first thing in the morning & late afternoon/early evening, not just for the fresh air, but the change of scenery
In very hot places (like India/Indonesia) I have seen mothers carrying their lo's around in the heat of the middle of the day, it all comes down to what is the acceptable norm for you.
The first summer we had my ds#1 we didn't have aircon & our place got very hot inside, so we used to find shady parks to go to, where there was a breeze.

[Erin M]

I've read that getting sunlight (or at least outside even if it's not sunny)every day helps your brain differentiate between night and day and helps you to sleep better at night.  When you're outside, your brain realizes that it's daytime and then you sleep better at night.  That's a really simplistic explanation of what I read, but that was the general idea. Anything to help them sleep better, right?

[Arwyn's mom]

On Oprah in the last Spring sometime, there was something about mothers in Denmark, I think, and how all their little ones sleep outside for at least an hour a day, no matter what the weather.

I don't know how true it is, can anyone confirm if this is a common practice in Denmark? or anywhere else for that matter?

[woopster]

A study in the UK found that babies who were outside for at least an hour a day slept better at night.

I just wish I could find a way to get all three out at the same time!!

[s_olano00]

I live in Hungary and I have a 70-80ish year old lady as a neighbour. She told me that I should take DD out to the garden everyday and let her take there one of her naps, that it's healthy and that the fresh air will do good to her. Never have done it, though, because DD is used to sleep in a dark room and the neighbourhood is full of dogs that bark at everytime.

She also insisted that I should take DD every afternoon to have a walk in the stroller to take fresh air. That I did until 2 weeks ago when the temperature started to descend. DD and I got pretty much addicted to our afternoon walks and I was kind of worried about  what would happen in fall/winter when it would be too cold and we couldn't go out for a walk. Though, I've been mommies walking their babies in Dec/Jan  :shock:

[Luisasmum]

Wow Wendy - you must have your hands full! Four children under three years....I'm struggling with one!

Ankie, I think I saw something like that on TV but it was Iceland and they just leave their babies in their prams (rugged up of course) outside the shops and cafes while they go in and try on clothes or sit down for a coffee! Guess they don't have rock spiders and other bad weirdos there.

It gets really hot here in summer too so early morning and late evening walks are usually the go. But if the forecast is anything higher than 42C (107.6F) the longest walk I'll be taking is to the bathroom for a cold shower!

Don't know if the fresh air helps with the sleeping but my dd loves checking out the horses and cows along the way. Getting out in the sunshine for about 10 minutes a day also prevents rickets. I nearly wet my pants laughing when my hypochondriac mother told me that but it really is true!

[kellyhushhh]

My Nan told me that when she had her 5 children each and every one of them was fed then put in their prams outside, wind,rain or snow until their next feed.  I too was put outside. I defiantely think babies thrive on fresh air.  Its hard though beacuse of all the weirdos around nowadays! xx

[Mariek]

A study in the UK found that babies who were outside for at least an hour a day slept better at night.

It's to do with the sunshine. Sunlight controls the release of Melatonin into your blood (which they think controls sleep - sunlight decreases melatonin and then being in the dark increases it which induces better sleep). It's the reason people get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) - they don't get enough exposure to natural light so the level of melatonin in their blood builds up which causes fatigue and depression.

See! I DID learn something at university other than how to drink beer and not fall over 

love

[ktmum]

LOL Marie  :wink:  :wink:

[woopster]

Marie, that's exactly what I meant!!  :wink:

[cwolff]

LOL.  I end up doing our walks around mid morning.  I'm such a train wreck first thing in the morning that I can't go walking around my neighborhood like that.  And lately in the late afternoons I'll spread a blanket in the shade of our backyard and we'll lay out there for a while.  Don't know if it's made too much of a difference in her sleeping though.  I'm still deprived.  My Grandmother said the same thing about keeping her babies outside most of the time.  She had them in Chicago in the winter time, and she said she'd just bundle them up and off they went to the park.  My next baby, I'm having in winter!

[Luisasmum]

You can drink beer and not fall over??? I can't even drink beer!!

[deb]

In addition to the melatonin thing, sunlight helps us to metabolize Vitamin D. My ped actually wanted me to put Nat on baby vitamins from the get-go to help prevent a D deficiency, but we're outside regularly so I don't do it, but the ped did say that lots of babies do have a deficiency of D, which also means a calcium deficiency since I guess you need the D to absorb calcium. So I would say YES, being outside is GOOD for ALL of us - UNLESS the air quality is bad, in which case it's probably a toss-up, since you can have bad air inside OR out. :?

[notenoughshelfspace]

My mum is also going on and on about taking the baby for a walk every day. I was taken for a walk every day when I was a baby and apparently slept better for it. My problem is; my little one completely refuses to sleep in her pram/ buggy. I have tried blocking her view, everything... she just cat naps whereas at home she sleep for 2.5 hours. Thus we no longer take walks, we try to get out and about when she is awake but I wish I could just put her in the pram in the garden for one of her naps, that would be amazing.

[Alibobs]

All this makes sense! We've been on lots of camping trips with our dd and she slept through every single night. We joked that we needed to set up the tent in the garden and let her sleep outside every night! SHe just doesn't sleep as well indoors.

[cwolff]

Well, I'm going to keep taking her out.  Because it definitely can't hurt right!

[jennc123]

heck yeah, you know how you feel if you spend some time outside everyday Great!!  I notice with bella she loves it and she naps and sleeps better, if she is fussy i take her outside and she immediatly calms down, something about teh temperature change, works wonders, especially when she was really little.

[jaxnp]

I think they do benefit from the fresh air.  If not while sleeping, it's a great distraction when they're fussy and awake.  And yes, in all of the Scandinavian countries, they let the babies sleep in their prams outside while they shop.  They hook up portable monitors on the prams and take the receiver with them.  So neat!

[marleyfloydbabe]

On Oprah in the last Spring sometime, there was something about mothers in Denmark, I think, and how all their little ones sleep outside for at least an hour a day, no matter what the weather.

I don't know how true it is, can anyone confirm if this is a common practice in Denmark? or anywhere else for that matter?

Yea, I guess the point of the show was to point out how different their culture is from ours.  They don't have to worry about people stealing their babies, so they feel safe to leave them outside.  Crazy huh?  We'd never think about doing that here! lol Too many freaks out there.  Anyway, on the subject thought.  I was born and raised till i was 5 in Trondheim Norway, which is very close to Denmark and very similar in climate and culture.  Anyway, Europe is different anyway.  America is so backward about what is acceptable these days.  It's ok for half naked scantily clad women to walk around with their boobs practically falling out but heaven forbid if your breast is 'exposed' when nursing... boobs can multitask!  Sex objects and food... Anyways, off the topic again! I think it is good for babies to get fresh air, but i don't know about the really cold weather myself. . .