Just eight more minutes’ sleep?

We saw a post on social media a couple of weeks ago: it said that sleep training leads to babies sleeping for an average of eight extra minutes a night. We know how precious that extra shut-eye is, but is it worth going through the process of sleep training for a mere eight minutes extra? 

What is sleep training? 

The term ‘sleep training’ or ‘sleep intervention’ is used to describe a range of approaches intended to help children sleep for longer, or support parents who are concerned about their child’s sleep. 

Support around sleep often involves giving parents more information about the development of their child’s sleep, alongside support with approaches to help children settle to sleep. 

This might include things such as a sleep routine, massage, developing individualised plans and support to recognise when a baby is tired. So, sleep training doesn’t have to involve ‘cry it out’ and the research included in this review included a range of approaches.   

What the research shows 

We found a review and meta-analysis of trials of sleep interventions which was published in 2021 (a review and meta-analysis is a systematic approach to looking at findings of research studies about a particular area). In this instance, the studies looked at trials aiming to improve sleep or prevent sleep problems in children under five.  

The reviewers found 8,571 publications and included 32 in the review. The trials included looked at night-time sleep (24 trials), daytime sleep (14 trials) and the amount of sleep in 24 hours (13 trials).  

The review found that the average increase in night-time sleep following an intervention, compared to those where no intervention was used, was nine minutes a night.  

The total sleep in 24 hours was similar, with an average increase of just over eight and a half minutes in a 24-hour period.  

They did not find evidence (from the trials included) of any increase in daytime sleep when sleep interventions were used.^[1] 

So, what did we conclude? 

While eight minutes won’t necessarily clear the brain fog that loss of sleep brings – and these increases might seem small – understanding your child’s sleep and feeling confident that you know how to support them to settle could reduce your concerns about their sleep patterns.  

Keep in mind that this review simply looked at sleep duration, but there are other factors that are sometimes studied, including sleep quality. 

Researching sleep can be difficult, as studies often rely on parents’ reports of their child’s sleep rather than objective measurements of sleep.^[1] And parents might start an intervention but then not continue it consistently, which can impact on findings.^[2]  

In short, it is always your call. If you are concerned about your child's sleep but don't want to call in an expert, here are some things you could consider to help bedtime go smoothly. 

• Have a consistent bedtime routine – you don’t have to follow the clock to the minute, but having a sequence of things that happen each bedtime, and a similar but slightly shorter routine for naps, can help.  
• Think about the balance of your child’s day – having plenty of time outside and lots of active time can help them to sleep well at night.  
• If bedtime feels difficult for you, do your best to keep calm – this is another way that a routine can help, as it gives you and your child a structure for bedtime.  
• Ask for help if needed – this might be chatting to a professional or accepting offers of help from a friend or family member.  

References 

[1] Fangupo, L.J., Haszard, J.J., Reynolds, A.N., Lucas, A.W., Mcintosh, D.R., Richards, R., Camp, J., Galland, B.C., Smith, C. & Taylor, R.W. (2021). Do sleep interventions change sleep duration in children aged 0-5 years? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 59. Article 101498.  

[2] Cassels, T. (2022). Evolutionary parenting podcast. Does the sleep training research apply to all? Available at https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/ Accessed 28th July 2022.