When is the Best Time to Train Your Baby for Sleep?

When it comes to training your baby for sleep, timing is everything. Knowing when to start sleep training can be the difference between success and failure. It's important to understand that sleep training can be time-consuming and requires a great deal of patience. Studies have shown that children who have been sleep trained in infancy tend to sleep better at two years of age than those who have not been sleep trained, and their mothers are less likely to suffer from depression.

Research has also found that cortisol secretion levels are not affected by sleep training. Some parents may choose to wait until their baby is older before beginning a sleep-training method, but this is not necessary. According to experts, it's best to wait until your baby is four months old before starting a formal sleep-training program. At this age, babies are able to go longer between feedings and their circadian rhythm begins to develop.

Babies who get more restful sleep tend to have fewer developmental and behavioral problems, and they usually have happier temperaments overall. The swooning technique is one of the most popular methods of sleep training. With this technique, you continue with the method you used to help your baby fall asleep (such as rocking or breastfeeding), but you gradually decrease the amount of time you spend doing it until your baby can fall asleep on their own. For babies under seven months old, it's best to stay in the room but not help them too much with falling asleep.

During their first year of life, babies need about nine to 12 hours of sleep a day, in addition to regular naps. Several years later, researchers re-examined these children and found that there were no signs of emotional or behavioral problems in children who had been sleep-trained versus those who had not. Now 11 months old, Greyson is a champion sleeper, having stopped feeding at night at seven months. For many parents, sleep training is a safe and effective way to help their babies learn how to calm themselves at night. Multiple studies have shown that sleep training is safe and effective, with no studies showing it to be harmful.