Babies Left To Cry Themselves To Sleep Will Not Have Problems

Parents who let their babies cry themselves to sleep should not worry. In a new study of 43 babies, Australian researchers have found that the Cry It Out Method of sleep training babies does not bring emotional, behavioral or parental attachment problems.

The Cry It Out sleep training method was called graduated extinction by the researchers. Today reported that it did not cause any more stress signs in babies compared to the bedtime fading sleep training method. 

NEW STUDY: Infants left to "cry it out" will not suffer any emotional, behavioral or parental attachment problems. https://t.co/Gox9Y2nmyF

— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) May 24, 2016

Two Sleep Training Methods For Babies

In graduated extinction, parents delayed their responses to their babies' cries gradually, according to CTV News. There were 14 babies placed under this sleep training method.

The second method the researchers used was bedtime fading. It involved putting off the bedtime of babies later each night so they would become more tired and sleep more easily. There were 15 babies placed in this sleep training method. Meanwhile, 14 babies were under a control group where their parents were given sleep information from a survey.

Those under the Cry It Out sleep training method slept faster and more soundly than the other babies according to Today. They slept about 20 minutes more on average during the night in comparison to those under the bedtime fading sleep training method.

Parents had diaries of their babies' sleep patterns. The babies' stress levels were measured twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon through saliva samples that sought out their stress hormone levels. Additionally, mothers also kept track of their own stress levels and moods.

Cry It Out Sleeping Method Trains Babies

NBC reported that according to lead author Michael Gradisar, the Cry It Out method prevents the possibility of parents and their babies to be pulled into a "coercive behavior trap." In this trap, the babies cry and are rewarded when their parents pay attention to them because of it.

Gradisar said that the trap particularly happens when the parents' response to the baby's cries are immediate. "The result being the child is more likely to cry more often thus disrupting the sleep of both themselves and their parents," added Gradisar.

Do you have other effective sleep training methods for babies? Share your thoughts below.