Read the 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for safe infant sleep.
There are many ways to go about sleep training – helping your child learn to fall asleep on her own at bedtime and sleep for longer stretches overnight. Read Erin Chan Ding’s Washington Post article about types and the benefits of sleep training for children and the family.
Get tips to help your baby learn to sleep in a crib.
Learn more about how you can change your own sleep habits using steps often in a toddler’s bedtime routine.
Parents can certainly have difficulty falling and staying asleep even after their young children are sleeping well overnight. Read more about what you can do about those sleepless nights in Jessica Grose’s article and interview with Dr. Shelby Harris at The New York Times.
What’s going on while your baby is sleeping? How does it help development? Find out from the BBC and our expert, Dr. Alice Gregory.
Seven sleep myths – put to bed or still up for debate
Wondering if your toddler is ready to transition to a bed? The New York Times gives some guidance along with Dr. Jodi Mindell.
Social media has a lot of information about sleep aids for children, but very little of it is written by health care professionals.
Read more about how children’s sleep habits have changed during the pandemic.
Dr. Alice Gregory talks to Sarah Cox from Goldsmiths University of London about how the pandemic may be affecting sleep health for adults and children, including some tips to help ease the strain.
Environment and family risk factors impact sleep.
Read more about healthy sleep habits such as getting enough sleep, healthy bedtime habits, and some tips and tricks for an easy bedtime routine on Indian Link by Dr. Vishal Saddi.
Read more about childhood insomnia and how to help, with some great information from Dr. Michael Gradisar.
Listen to experts talk about sleep training myths and truths on NPR.
Just for fun, a baby’s schedule from the New York Times.
Societal lack of sleep can be considered a public health crisis. Read this Washington Post article to find out more about the importance of sleep across the lifespan .
Learn more information that may help your family make decisions about room-sharing in this New York Times article.
Did you know that children’s eyes let in more light than adults’ eyes do? Read more here about the importance of a dark evening environment.
The second annual Baby Sleep Day is around the corner!
Bedtimes, bedtime routines, and sleep spaces vary widely by nation and culture.
Parents often think about their children’s sleep, and the way parents think about their baby’s sleep is related to depressive symptoms.
Older infants who sleep in their own room tend to sleep better than infants who share a room with their parents.
Child sleep quality is associated with mom’s sleep problems but not necessarily dad’s sleep problems, study finds.
Study suggests that inconsistent childcare arrangements can affect toddlers’ sleep.
Sleep safety – put babies on their backs to sleep.
Whether it’s your husband, wife, partner, or simply another adult in your life, many parents experience sleep envy!
Anxiety during pregnancy or in the postpartum period can be overwhelming and debilitating. Read more about this “hidden disorder” here.
Families may be able to have access to baby boxes in Washington, D.C.
Room-sharing and sleep outcomes in infancy – read this NPR article to learn more.
Sleep interventions may prevent being overweight in early childhood.
Read about continued racial and ethnic disparities in sudden unexpected infant death in this NPR article.
Early bedtimes are good for kids and moms!
Having social support relates to fewer reports of colicky, fussy babies.
Daily routines, including having a set bedtime in preschool, is associated with a reduced risk of obesity.
Babies and toddlers tend to get less sleep and have a harder time falling asleep the more touchscreen time they have – but more research is needed to find out why.
Israeli researchers are reporting that even sleeping in the same room can have negative consequences: not for the child, but for the mother.
Chase Scheinbaum, writing for Fatherly.com, Dr. Jodi Mindell’s summarizes some of sleep recommendations. Read more here.
Read about sleep problems and their impact on physical and mental health in school-age children, including some input from Dr. Catherine Hill – and get some advice on how to get a good night’s rest!
Read Drs. Alice Gregory and Erin Leichman take on combining science and family preferences to help your little one sleep on The Conversation’s website.
Read Dr. Melisa Moore’s post on how you, your baby, and family can get better sleep.
Check out this video of Dr. Catherine Hill being interviewed on BBC!
Read about how a brochure outlining three simple stories helped families support better sleep hygiene.
Despite safe sleep recommendations, retailers continue to depict babies in unsafe sleeping environments through retail images.
Melatonin is a hormone that, among other things, helps the body regulate its circadian rhythm- or body clock. Many families use melatonin to help settle their young children to sleep.
But, is it safe for kids?
A history and results of the Back to Sleep Campaign: A year after the Back to Sleep campaign, the number of SIDS cases fell from 1,545 in 1989 to 647 in 1992 in the UK.
Listen to Dr. Catherine Hill on a BBC Radio Ask the Expert segment talk about some exciting pediatric sleep topics!
Genes and environment – before and after birth – all contribute to the development of sleep. Learn more about baby sleep patterns.
Check us out in the news –Pediatric sleep experts create website to provide free, evidence-based information about young children’s sleep.
Check us out in the news – The Pediatric Sleep Council launches a free online advice service for families, babysleep.com!
Read about how sleep affects behavior and behavior affects sleep – it goes both ways!
Preschoolers who do not get enough sleep consumed about 20% more calories than usual.
A Slate contributor responds to a New York Times article about a family managing sleep struggles.
More news about the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s sleep range recommendations for children as well as their mental and physical health.
Despite warnings about safety in a baby’s sleep environment, a recent video-based study showed that over 90% of families placed objects in a young baby’s sleep space and over 10% of families placed young babies in an unsafe sleep position.
Alice Gregory
In a study of over 2,000 twin children followed from 5 to 18 years old, about 12% had ADHD. Interestingly, 78% of those who had ADHD as a child did not have it at 18 years old. Although people with ADHD in childhood had worse sleep than those who did not, those who no longer had ADHD at 18 had sleep quality similar to those teens who had never had ADHD.
This New York Times article summarizes several strategies for your little one at bedtime.
Kevin Smith
Dr. Smith talks about how your family can sleep better on a TED Radio Hour.
Harriet Hiscock
Even preschoolers and school-age children have trouble sleeping! Read about a sleep intervention for children transitioning to a school schedule in Australia. Not only did children’s sleep improve, but their psychosocial functioning and their parents’ mental health also showed improvements.
Read an article highlighting the importance of getting enough sleep considering newly delivered sleep guidelines, in addition to Healthline article discussion with Dr. Lisa Meltzer.
Michael Gradisar
Sleep training improves sleep, does not related to adverse stress responses, have long term negative effects on attachment, emotions, or behavior.
Lisa J. Meltzer
Making sure your children get enough quality sleep is a priority for the whole family. Read more about how you can tell if your little one is getting enough sleep.
Lisa J. Meltzer
Keeping a consistent sleep schedule during the summer can definitely be a challenge for families. Learn more about how to manage sleep during the summer and in the weeks before school starts!
Jodi Mindell
Watch Jodi Mindell help a family sleep better by getting their little one on a consistent sleep schedule on a TODAY segment. Also, Dr. Mindell’s answers some common questions that families often have about sleep for infants and toddlers.
Lisa J. Meltzer
Nighttime fears can be quite common for young children – for some, they are part of typical development. Those fears, however, can definitely interfere with falling asleep. Find out how to help your little one get past some of those fears so he can fall asleep easily at bedtime.
Jodi Mindell
A bedtime routine is a key element of healthy sleep – and now we know that the more frequently your little one has a consistent routine, the better!
Researchers find that poor sleep in young children may be a “red flag” for depression, anxiety, and other emotional-behavioral problems, yet sleep problems can be missed by caregivers and health-care providers.
Kim Kirkpatrick-Justice
Find out more about your kids, electronics, and sleep.
Jodi Mindell
Overall in the United States, children are going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep. Learn how to help kids get more sleep in this USA TODAY article featuring Dr. Jodi Mindell.
A.J. Swichtenberg
In a study from Purdue University, researchers work toward improving tools for early and accurate diagnosis of autism. Read and listen to this story on WBAA NPR to learn how infant sleep patterns are helping in these efforts.
Robyn Stremler
Although there were clear indicators in a pilot study that providing families with guidance related to sleep improved sleep for mothers and babies in the first six weeks of life, there were no improvements in sleep associated with this intervention when the research was expanded. Despite appreciating the nurse-delivered information and follow-ups, families did not seem to sleep better than other families who did not get those follow-ups.
