I am a firm believer in the power of sleep and the difference it can make to both children and their parents. When sleep is working well, it supports mood, behaviour, development and the overall wellbeing of the whole family.
Alongside these well known benefits, some fascinating insights have come from Mike Gradisar B.Sc. (Hons), M.Psyc. (Clin), PhD, a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Clinical Child Psychology at Flinders University in Australia, which may be particularly helpful for parents considering making changes to their child’s sleep.
Evidence Based Sleep Consulting
In my experience, many families come to me feeling concerned after reading online articles suggesting that crying when little ones are learning to sleep can be harmful.
Mike Gradisar has compiled a comprehensive review of the research on this topic, helping to clear up the confusion with science backed evidence and offering a more balanced understanding for parents navigating sleep.
At Little Dreams, I prefer to take a gentle and responsive approach, rather than traditional ‘cry it out’ methods. This sits at the heart of how I support families. However, it is also important to recognise that when you make changes to sleep, some level of protest can be very normal.
It can be reassuring to hear that, while it is naturally very difficult to listen to as a parent, research shows that a bit of crying at bedtime does not lead to elevated cortisol levels in the way many people once believed, and is not harmful to your child.
Mike Gradisar’s review of the evidence helps to bring clarity to this, offering a more balanced and evidence based understanding of what is happening.
All of us at Little Dreams are parents too, and we would not support any approach we were not confident was safe and rooted in evidence. We rely on research, not just opinion, to guide the work we do. You can explore Professor Gradisar’s full findings here.
If sleep is feeling challenging right now, you are very welcome to get in touch for a free 15 minute call. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference.
