It doesn’t matter whether they’re a few days old or a few decades old – all humans need enough sleep within a 24-hour period to develop, grow and function. What does vary though is the amount of sleep we need, and that is determined by our age. As a very general rule, the younger we […]
If your baby or child struggles to sleep well for weeks, months or even years, you might start to think they just don’t need that much sleep and be tempted to let things continue as they are. In reality though, they’re building what’s called a ‘sleep debt’ and becoming more and more sleep deprived. Sleep […]
During my discussions with families who need support with baby and child sleep, I often come across new terms or labels to describe things they’ve been told are contributing to their sleep issues. Probably one of the most common things I hear is that their little one is a “high-needs (HN)” baby. The problem is […]
Having a newborn to love and care for brings many parents feelings of overwhelming joy and happiness. As their little one happily feeds and sleeps, they marvel at the life they have created and the life they will share together in the years ahead. But for others, the initial elation of their child’s arrival quickly […]
Your baby drifts off for their nap and you finally get some time to yourself. But no sooner does that hot cup of coffee reach your lips than they wake up again. It starts to feel like the daytime nap isn’t even worth it! So, is it? One of the questions I get asked a […]
There are so many positive reasons to establish a bedtime routine for your baby or child. A calm, relaxing and consistent routine at the end of each day helps them wind down in preparation for sleep. It also helps you and your little one know what’s happening next so neither of you feels overwhelmed when […]
No matter what age we are, all humans rouse or wake during the night. We’re just not always aware of it because our wake ups usually only last a few moments before we go back to sleep. This happens because we’re designed to have full nights of restorative sleep so our bodies and brains can […]
Our bodies work in line with a 24-hour cycle or a ‘circadian rhythm’. During each 24-hour period, our different bodily systems perform tasks that help us function the best we can. For example, after we wake up, our body releases certain hormones that make us feel hungry to prompt us to eat and other hormones […]
We’ve all heard the question: “Is bub sleeping through the night yet?” For a lot of the exhausted families I meet, this is actually a really unhelpful question because it gives them the idea that their newborn should be going down to sleep at 6pm and not waking up until 12 hours later, and when […]
I’ve never met a parent who likes hearing their baby or child cry, and I get it because I’m a mum too, and I feel the same! As soon as we hear our little ones crying, our brains tell us to leap into action and comfort them. In these moments though, it’s easy to forget […]
Connect with Steph and stay up to date with Sleep by Steph's latest offerings.
