How does sleep help motor skills?

Changing baby's sleep direction can help strengthen baby's neck muscles and head control.

Changing head direction can help prevent positional plagiocephaly (flat head) and positional torticollis, by encouraging baby to move their head and strengthen both sides of their neck. When baby faces different directions as they lay, they also vary the direction they turn their head in response to a noise (such as a parent entering the room). This strengthens neck muscles more evenly on both sides, and changes the places where baby puts pressure on their head as they lay.