Night lights are commonly used as a comforter for young toddlers who have developed a fear of the dark and can’t help but imagine the scary monsters lurking in the shadows of their room. But can night light projectors be used to comfort younger babies and help them sleep?

No magic lights

Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic light out there that will guarantee your baby will sleep through the night, but night lights do add a feeling of comfort when it’s needed most and they can help your baby settle back down to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.

So, while there really isn’t a universal answer to this question as it’s very much a case-by-case scenario, you can only try one and see if it will benefit your situation. But in addition to the possibility of helping your baby sleep better, the soft lighting provided by the night light will help you see what you’re doing during late night feeding and changing runs. The night light will put an end to you stepping on stray toys and stop you from disturbing your baby further by turning on the rooms harsher light or even using the LED flashlight on your phone.

Bedtime Routine Tips

With that example in mind, it’s best to think of night light projectors as an assistant in an already healthy bedtime routine for a baby. Here are a few tips to help your baby sleep through the night.

  • Follow a consistent, calming bedtime routine. Overstimulation in the evening can make it difficult for your baby to settle to sleep.
  • Put your baby to bed drowsy but awake. This will help your baby associate their bed with sleep.
  • Give your baby time to settle down. They might be restless before finding a comfy position to fall asleep in.
  • Consider a pacifier. A pacifier might help them settle. Research also suggests that using a pacifier during sleep reduces the risk of SIDS. We also have an article about what newborns can sleep in to help prevent SIDS.
  • Keep night time care low-key. Use dim lights, soft voices and calm movements. This will tell your baby that it’s time to sleep.
  • Respect your babies’ preferences. If you baby is a night owl or early bird, then maybe it’s best that you adjust your routine to fit their natural patterns.

Notice most of these tips are centered around the idea of keeping things calming and giving your baby time to settle down? These are areas a night light projector would be a great addition to your baby’s sleep routine!

Dangers of Blue Light

Having a warm colored night light will create a comforting ambiance for your baby’s bedtime routine. It’s best to avoid blue light as it has a negative effect on sleep. The blue light disrupts our body clock and even stops us from producing melatonin which is an essential sleep-inducing hormone.

Any source of light can suppress melatonin which is why it’s best to sleep in rooms where light is minimal, but blue light at night is the most powerful. This is why we recommend you get your baby a red, warm colored light as it is less likely to mess with their body clock and suppress melatonin.

Check out this article for more about the dark side of blue light.

Tips for Using a Baby Night Light Projector

Now that you’ve picked out your night light projector, you might be wondering what are the best ways to use it?

As mentioned earlier in the article, working the night light into their bedtime routine will bring the most benefit.

  • Try turning it on before you bring them into the room, so they’ll be entering a dimly lit and calming space.
  • Lay your baby down and let them settle while looking at the shapes and patterns your night light will be projecting in the room.
  • Once your baby drifts off to sleep, turn it off. We all sleep best in dark room with minimal light source
  • If your baby prefers the light is on through the night, try and place it somewhere in the room so that the source of light is obscured from the baby’s viewpoint. This will block the brightest point of light from the baby and minimize the lights sleep disruption potential.

Our Recommended Night Light Projectors

 

Our top pick is the Galaxy night light projector. It comes with 6 projection film effects such as Christmas, happy birthday, dinosaur, zoo, starry night and planet/universe film. It also lets you change between 3 colors. Meaning you won’t run out of variety when creating a relaxing environment for your little one.

The projector has brightness and timer settings, so you can easily set the brightness to suit your needs and you won’t have to worry about it staying on all through the night as you can use its timer function to automatically turn off after a set amount of time.

Galaxy Night Light Projector

The projector is super to easy to use and rotates quietly. It also has a rechargeable battery so you can move it around your room and set up dynamic lighting super easily! It also has a cap that turns the projector into a classic nightlight.

The feature that puts this light above the rest though, is the fact it has built in Bluetooth with a speaker. This will let you control all of the projector’s settings from your phone and your even able to play your own music through the nightlight, so baby can listen to their favorite songs as they drift asleep.

Our second pick is this Night light projector which is designed to look like a super cute chicken!

It has very similar features to the previous night light with 6 projection film effects, 3 color options, adjustable brightness and timer settings, a rechargeable battery and a cover to convert it into a traditional nightlight.

The main difference with this projector is the Bluetooth functionality, as it unfortunately doesn’t have it. Instead, it offers a remote control for you to use with the light and a built in ‘music box’ mode which has 8 soothing melodies that can be played in sequence or you can pick your babies favorite and have it repeat while they try to sleep.

Chicken Night Light Projector

Another light worth mentioning is this star night light projector from WINICE.

Funnily enough it is also designed after a little chick. But unlike the projectors above, it doesn’t include a music option at all. So, if you are not all too worried about it playing music for your little one, then it’s still a great pick as it includes all of the same features as the others! 6 projection films, 3 color settings, brightness and timer function, a remote control and a rechargeable battery along with the light cover to turn it into a classic night light.

Chicken Night Light Projector2

A final night light to consider is this rotating night light, which comes in a really unique Dinosaur egg design.

Again, it doesn’t have musical functionality but it shares all of the common features highlighted across the previous night light projectors. But what makes this one stand out, besides its unique design is that it has 7 custom colors to choose from with static and gradient options so you have the ability to pick your preferred color or set it to seamlessly blend between them all. This light will add a lot of diversity to your bedtime routine.

Dinosaur Night Light Projector

Do Night Light Projectors Help Babies Sleep? – Summary

While night light projectors don’t turn your baby in to an all-night sleeper, they can definitely help streamline the process and add a layer of calm relaxation to an otherwise rowdy time in your baby’s life.

To reap the full benefit from your night light projector it’s important to work it into an already healthy baby bedtime routine and remember to stay away from nasty blue lights! A lot of the night light projectors out there give the option of blue lights but we recommend you ignore these settings and stick to the warm red, orange and yellow glows.

Hopefully we’ve helped in your search for a night light projector and if you have any experience using one, please share your story with us in the comments box below!

For mothers, we have: 7 Tried and Tested Sleeping Saving Tips for Moms.

 

Related Articles:

faced down baby lying on the mattress
Girl inside the green sleeping bag
young kid standing happily on a pack n play