Baby sleep tips and topics:A guide for the science-minded parent© 2008 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved
Welcome to your source for baby sleep tips and articles based on the latest scientific research in sleep, pediatrics, and anthropology. Here you will find information about:
More detailed information about these articles is provided below. How babies sleep: A survival guide for tired parentsLooking to improve your family’s sleep life? An excellent first step is to get familiar with the science of baby sleep.Once you understand how, why, and when babies sleep, it will be easier for you to decide on the best sleep strategies for your family. And—while it’s a cliché—I think it’s true for most people that understanding brings peace of mind. If you have a new baby, check out my article on newborn sleep. It explains why newborn sleep seems out-of-sync with the 24-hour day, and offers baby sleep tips for helping your newborn develop her own circadian rhythms. It also reviews baby sleep cycles—which are key for understanding why newborns are so easily aroused from sleep. The article includes baby sleep tips for avoiding unnecessary night awakenings and tips for improving your own sleep during the newborn period. In addition, you should check out my article baby sleep patterns. There you will find important information on reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). If your baby is already over 4 weeks old, you might prefer to skip ahead to my article on baby sleep patterns. This article explains how baby circadian rhythms and sleep cycles mature over time, and reviews the environmental risk factors for SIDS. It covers how parenting styles, developmental milestones and medical conditions that can affect baby sleep. And the article also reviews two ideas promoted by many Western medical professionals—that babies should “sleep through the night” and that babies should learn to “self-soothe.” Are these achievements necessary—or even realistic? The evidence suggests they may not be. How many hours of sleep does your baby need?To my surprise, I’ve learned that there isn’t any straightforward, scientific answer to this question. Those authoritative-looking sleep charts you see everywhere are based on scientific guesswork, and they do a poor job of conveying how much variation there is among individuals. To learn more about estimating your baby’s sleep needs, see my articles on baby sleep requirements and the signs of sleep deprivation.Troubleshooting: Baby sleep tips for identifying and treating sleep problemsSome babies suffer from medical conditions that disturb their sleep. If your baby seems to be having trouble falling asleep—or staying asleep—it is prudent to have him checked for one of these medical conditions. For more details, see this article on the organic causes of baby sleep disturbances.However, Western sleep researchers report that most ongoing baby sleep problems are not caused by underlying medical conditions. Instead, they are caused by environmental factors—-and these are factors you have the power to change. In my “troubleshooting” article, I review science-based baby sleep tips for the most common causes of infant sleep problems. I also discuss the controversy about leaving babies alone to "cry it out," and review what sleep training programs may be safe and appropriate for babies under the age of 12 months. But does your baby really have a sleep problem? Perhaps everything is going reasonably well, except that you are worried that your baby is sleeping too little-—or too much. If this is your concern, check out my article on baby sleep requirements. Baby sleep solutionsFor more baby sleep tips, see my article on finding the right infant sleep aid.In addition, see my article on infant sleep training. It reviews two scientifically-tested sleep training programs appropriate for babies over 6 months old.
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