There are many benefits of sleep training. But, it has a bad reputation. There is a large movement within the parenting communities and those who work with infants to promote the idea that sleep training is cruel and harmful, despite study after study showing that it is not. So, if the term “sleep training” makes you uncomfortable, or worse, the term makes you angry, you can just think of it as sleep coaching or sleep learning.
There are many things that babies learn to do in their first year of life and sleep is just one of them. Some babies will learn how to fall asleep without parental intervention – rocking, feeding, bouncing, patting, etc., to sleep – and some babies will need a careful approach to acquire this skill. Others, even if their parents are doing all the right things, benefit from having a short, 2-3 week, period of methodical sleep coaching.
The benefits of sleep coaching are obvious for babies: they sleep better. When they are well rested, babies are calmer and easier to care for.
There are many benefits of sleep coaching for parents, too. Let’s look at those in more depth.
More sleep!
This is really obvious, but just like their children, parents need sleep too. Lack of sleep and chronic fatigue are associated with impairments in motor function and brain response, weight gain, heart disease and T2 diabetes. A longer, restorative night’s sleep is a great preventative of systemic inflammation and the foundation of good health.
Less anxiety and frustration!
Improved sleep for parents means a general reduction in stress hormones. What’s more, when sleep coaching leads to a baby sleeping more reliably, with less parental intervention, parents spend less time feeling frustrated and anxious about themselves, their partners and their babies.
Increased time with their partner!
When you don’t have to hold a baby through their naps and rush to your baby’s bedside less times throughout the night, you have more time to hang out with your partner. You spend more time laughing with them, being supportive of them, sharing food with them, enjoying a movie or TV show with them. And, the more time you spend in bed with them and less time tending to an awake baby through the night, the happier you’ll be in bed with your partner!
A greater sense of mastery as a parent!
Let’s face it. When your baby isn’t sleeping well, you won’t feel like a good parent. You probably spend a lot of time second-guessing yourself and feeling like a failure. A blow to your confidence can have far-reaching negative effects on your parenting. But helping your baby learn to sleep well can restore your confidence and allow you to be a more thoughtful parent.
Parents looking to reap the benefits of sleep coaching on their babies should discuss their needs with a Sleep Consultant. They will be able to assess a family’s sleep needs and provide a clear and compassionate step-by-step approach to helping your baby learn to sleep better.
