For Infant Sleep, Receptiveness is More Important than Routine

Sleep: the one thing constantly on the minds of new parents; of course with good reason.  Establishing a sleep schedule is imperative if anyone in the house is to get some sleep once the new baby arrives.  The best way to go about ensuring a good night’s sleep?  That has been a widely debated subject still without a ‘best practice’ conclusion.  However, parental receptiveness may be more poignant than a nighttime routine, according to a new study.

It was previously thought that too much parental attentiveness at bedtime only hindered a baby’s ability to fall (and stay) asleep on their own , yet the Penn State research team actually found the opposite to be true.  Published in the Journal of Family Psychology, the study reveals that parents who are emotionally receptive can help reduce sleep disruptions ultimately helping babies and toddlers get a better night’s sleep.

The study examined mothers’ behaviors during their infants’ bedtime; noting the parents who had the most success responded appropriately to their children’s’ cues.  These cues included gazing inquisitively at their parents’ face or showing disinterest in an activity.  For example, one mother responded promptly with reassuring words whenever her baby vocalized during breastfeeding.

In stark contrast, one mother in the study used “stern directives” while trying to read her child a bedtime story and was trying to force the child to remain engaged in the activity even though the child was clearly losing interest.  The same child got up and left the room several times before actually falling asleep.

Another key finding of the study was that little correlation was found between the amount of face time parents spent with their child before bed and sleep disruptions- essentially rebutting previous studies that tout otherwise. Study authors note that parents might find the results of this study a bit challenging because being emotionally available, or tuning into your child’s cues, is actually more effective than any specific bedtime behavior.  Also, as the authors note, emotions are the most fundamental means of parent-child communication.  This was the first study to use video cameras in both the parent and child’s room to capture direct behavioral observation.  There are many more studies to come as the research team plans to continue the study focusing on other areas including sleep disruption, parenting styles at bedtime, child’s temperament, and development.  Until then, we’ll sleep on it.

Tags: infant sleep, nighttime routine

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Baby Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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