What is “momsomnia,” and what can I do about it? “Momsomnia,” “Revenge bedtime procrastination”- call it what you like, but we know what it is at its core. It is delaying bedtime to do things when it is quiet. Lack of sleep in adults can worsen stress, irritability, anxiety, depression, [...]
My oldest child has narcolepsy. Do I need to be worried that my toddler will have it too? First degree relatives of people who have narcolepsy only have a 1-2% risk of developing narcolepsy. A first degree relative is a person’s child, sibling (brother or sister), or parent. In addition, familial [...]
I am a new parent. What do you know about how my little one’s sleep will affect my sleep and mood? It’s inevitable that you will need to get up and down to attend to your new baby overnight. Most babies will feed throughout the night, some to 6 months of age. So you will feel tired and for [...]
How do dads impact baby’s sleep? Research on the role of fathers in infant sleep development is overall scarce, but there are some findings on this topic that demonstrate how a father’s involvement in caregiving is related to infant sleep. Overall mothers do more infant nighttime caregiving [...]
How can my (mom’s) stress and mood affect my baby’s sleep? Can my sleep problems (or my infant sleep problems) sometimes affect our bonding? Emotional distress (such as anxiety, stress, and depression) in moms is significantly associated with disrupted sleep in infants. Studies have shown that [...]
I just had a baby, how can I get the best sleep possible? (is there a difference between whether I room-share with my baby or not?) You’ll be woken up, it’s almost inevitable – but try not to worry about when you will be woken up next; you’ll sleep better. You should expect that your sleep [...]
What is the Huggy Puppy? How can it help children who are afraid at night or who are having trouble sleeping because they were exposed to trauma? The Huggy Puppy intervention (HPI) was developed by Professor Avi Sadeh as a brief intervention to help young children cope with severe stress [...]
My child has autism. Who can help me with his sleep? Many children with autism have a team of people including occupational therapists, behavior therapists, and speech therapists. All of the people on a child’s team can play a role in helping with sleep. Most families have a person who [...]
I have postpartum depression. What can you tell me about how this might affect my little one’s sleep? Links between postpartum depression and infant sleep problems have been reported. It is important that you realize that this does not necessarily mean that your depression is leading to [...]
Even though he is young I think my child is anxious. Will that affect his sleep? Beyond typical nighttime fears, anxiety can start early in life, so it is indeed possible that your child is suffering from anxiety and I would suggest contacting a health care provider to discuss your concerns [...]