![]() What happens to an infant brain that is exposed to high levels of stress? Does it mature differently to that of one that grew in a more nurturing environment? Very likely.Ī baby who is nurtured in his early years, who has his needs fully met, is more likely to grow a brain that has good emotional regulation skills (aka ‘self soothing’), better memory and even better intelligence. If babies are sleep trained under the mistaken assumption that they can be taught to ‘self soothe’, does this have long term implications? Of course it does. Sleep Training Can Have Long Term Negative Consequences Some babies are naturally calm, but it’s important to not mistake this as ‘self soothing’ as this article explains.ģ. They may be quiet, but they are not calm. Research tells us that the babies remain in a high state of anxiety, they just don’t communicate this. When we leave a baby to ‘self soothe’ or ‘self settle’, as most sleep training advocates, we do so under the mistaken assumption that they are actually regulating their emotions and becoming calmer. Babies do not possess this high level of brain functioning, their tiny brains take time to develop. In order to regulate our emotions a complex chain of neurological events have to take place which presumes a high level of brain functioning. I’m sure you know somebody with a short temper? Some adults don’t have very good emotion regulation skills. When we are scared or anxious we are able to rationalise our emotions and calm ourselves down, or at least most of us can. Sleep training presumes that babies think like adults, they don’t. Sleep Training Misunderstands The Capabilities of Babies Simply put babies are not meant to sleep like adults.Ģ. Under four months of age babies have no concept of night and day, beyond this their circadian rhythms begin to function on a fairly comparable level to that of an adult, however they are not quite the same and may still be having ‘midnight parties’ until they reach school age, when finally their circadian rhythm is fully established. The chemical signals of sleep that make us feel alert or drowsy depending on the time of day. Encouraging deeper/longer sleep is artificial and can have negative consequences.īabies also have under developed circadian rhythms, or body clocks. This frequent waking keeps them safe and protects them against SIDS/cot death. This may be exhausting for parents, however from the baby’s point of view it is a good thing. Only their sleep cycles are much shorter than ours and they have the potential to wake around 10-12 times per night. Sometimes we wake fully and find it a little hard to get back to sleep. At the end of each sleep cycle we may rouse a little, but not fully, and start a new cycle, unaware that we are transitioning between two cycles. For young babies this is around 45 minutes long, for an adult roughly double that. We all sleep in chunks of time called a ‘sleep cycle’. Nobody sleeps ‘through the night’, whatever their age. Babies and young children do not sleep like adults, they are not meant to and for a very good reason. Those who advocate sleep training misunderstand what normal baby sleep should look like. Sleep Training Misunderstands Normal Baby Sleep ![]() Here are ten reasons why you shouldn’t do it!ġ. ![]() Are friends, relatives and professionals telling you that you should sleep train your baby? Warning you of dire consequences if you don’t?Īre you considering sleep training because you are exhausted and desperate for a little more sleep? ![]()
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