Is it healthy to encourage babies to sleep through in early life?

Although we know that babies, from as early as two months, have a definate sleep pattern developing, how healthy is it to have an infant sleep through the night?
You may argue as a parent that you need your night sleep, and wake only to feed or comfort your child. That it is better for you, and makes it easier to cope, if your child sleeps through the night and lets you sleep too.

While this has become the accepted standard, and parents are particularly proud when they can tell others that their child sleeps through the night from as early as a few months old, we know that breast fed babies wake several times through the night and that this encourages milk production.
Breast fed babies usually feed quickly and with minimal disturbance to their own or their mothers sleep, depending on the sleeping place.

There is another school of thought that says babies who are encouraged too soon to sleep too deeply are more likely to overcome their bodies natural "protective" impulse to wake, may be more likely to succum to Sudden Infant Death.
This arousal mechanism is the primary means by which infants defend themselves against potentially fatal breathing or cardiac perturbations. Encouraging early sleep consolidation may be placing arousal-deficient infants at increased risk of sudden and unexpected death.

When the "experts" disagree it is confusing for parents who want to do the best they can for their baby. Perhaps parents whose children do not sleep through the night before 6-9months should take heart that, although they may have a sleep deficit as a consequense, they are not necessarily doing anything wrong.

The truth of the matter is, that what is a problem for one set of parents, is not necessarily viewed as a problem by other parents. We should be prepared to work with our children. Supporting them through life and encouraging the behaviours we find acceptable. At the same time accepting that we all develop at different paces and there is some joy in the differences too.

There is no "one rule suits all" nor should there be.

If you have concerns about your child's sleep, Contact Dream-Angus.com

Babies and circadian rythm.

The hormone Melatonin produced in the pineal gland regulates sleep. It does so using the initial building block of tryptophan which is an omega 3 fatty acid. This initial and important building block is present in breast milk. Mum's circadian rythm is usually well established and it is interesting that a study looking at the levels of this important omega 3 in breast milk has found that mum's circadian rythm has an effect on the amount of "sleep related hormone" secreted in breast milk.
Sleep efficiency in babies of 12 weeks, both only breast fed and those who were formula fed was measured over a week and it was found that assumed sleep, actual sleep and sleep efficiency was significantly better in exclusively breast fed babies.
It follows that breast fed babies are already learning to develop a circadian rythm which is parallel to that of mum. The levels of tryptophan which fluctuate to follow mum's rythm are starting to "train" baby.

Another study investigated the relationship between exposure to light and 24-h patterns of sleep and crying in young, healthy, full-term babies living at home and following a normal domestic routine. Babies were monitored across three consecutive days at 6, 9 and 12 weeks of age. There was an early evening peak in crying which was associated with reduced sleep at 6 weeks. Across the trials there was a gradual shift towards a greater proportion of sleep occurring at night. Sleeping well at 6 weeks was a good indication of more night-time sleep at 9 and 12 weeks. Babies who slept well at night were exposed to significantly more light in the early afternoon period. These data suggest that light in the normal domestic setting influences the development of the circadian system.

Both of these studies demonstrate the ability of babies to "learn" a circadian rythm and confirm that encouraging naps in normal daylight will improve infants night sleep patterns.

If you would like information and advice on training your baby to sleep
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