Sofia Axelrod - How Babies Sleep: The Gentle, Science-Based Method to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night

To all sleep-deprived parents

As I watched my mentor, biologist Michael Young, accept his Nobel Prize for discovering the genes that guide our sleep behavior at the Royal Academy in Stockholm in 2017, I wondered whether my husband back in New York had remembered to turn on the red light when putting our daughter to sleep. Why? Because its what Young, along with his colleagues Michael Rosbash and Jeff Hall, won the prize for that inspired me to try something new. His research in the Young Laboratory of Genetics at Rockefeller University in New York Citywhere Ive worked as a postdoc and then a research associate since 2012demonstrated that there are genes that regulate our wake and sleep cycles, and we can affect them in a simple way: by controlling ourand, by extension, our babysexposure to light.

Youre probably wondering what this has to do with my husband and a red light in my daughters nursery, so let me explain. You see, Im a sleep scientist, but Im also a mother of two. So I know firsthand the pain of sleep deprivation when your baby doesnt sleep through the night, and how exhausting it is to care for a newborn who wakes every few hours. Weve all been thereits 2 a.m., youre in deep sleep, and then you wake to the piercing sound of your baby crying out in what sounds like utmost despair. Dizzy and disoriented, you take a look at your clock and sigh at the ungodly hour, but you get up and stumble into the babys room, trying to figure out why on earth she is so upset when she cant possibly be hungry again. I was that mom, too many times to count. I was living in this constant state of brain fog from chronic sleep deprivation, and it was terrible. In fact, I hated feeling like that so much that I used every brain cell I had to fix my babys sleep. And it workedbecause I used the science of sleep.

In our laboratory at Rockefeller University, we study the fundamentals of sleep. We explore why we sleep, how sleep is regulated, and even the consequences of sleep deprivation. Thanks to scientific advancements and research from our lab and other sleep experts worldwide, we now know a lot about the science of sleep. This book will give you a science-based program to help your baby get a full nights sleep and set the foundation for a lifetime of healthy sleep habits naturally, without resorting to typical sleep training methods that can be hard for new parents. Because this program is based on science, you will be working with your babys natural desire to sleep, not against it. It will feel intuitive and gentle, instead of forced and challenging.

By using the method outlined in this book, you will be able to have your child sleeping through the night for at least seven hours by sixteen weeks of age. How do I know? Because Ive tried it myself on my two children and with clients in my baby sleep coaching practice and have seen it work time and time again. When my first child, my daughter, Leah, was born, I was clueless about how to help her sleep through the night. But I naturally started incorporating aspects of our labs research into Leahs bedtime routine, and used what I learned in the lab to minimize her night wakings and help her fall asleep more quickly after feedings. It worked amazingly well. As Leah grew and I had another child, I continued to refine my process and distill the insights from scientific research along with my personal observations into a simple method. Now, two babies, five years, and many success stories later, I firmly believe that the science of sleep can help your baby sleep through the night more quickly and easily than you realize. Ive translated the science of sleep into a program that works for real parents in the real world, and now Im excited to share it with you.

Because this book is rooted in science, it gives you a unique edge in tackling your babys sleep problems. What are those problems? Lets hear directly from the parents I coach:

Its been impossible to put him down for his nap.

She wakes up every hour at night and wants to be fed.

My three-year-old was a great sleeper from day one, but no such luck with the new baby! Help!

Im so tired I keep forgetting important things.

Putting him down is a daily struggle.

Does this sound familiar to you? Are those statements that you use to describe your babys sleep? What about the following statements?

Today he woke up at 5 a.m.

I let her sleep in this morning.

He skipped his afternoon nap yesterday.

She went to bed an hour earlier last night.

I put him down whenever hes tired.

Its the weekend! Anything goes.

Were on vacation! Anything goes.

Shes learning to walk, so shes sleeping worse.

All babies are different. My son is just a bad sleeper.

These kinds of statements and sleep issues are all too commonI hear them every day in my coaching practice. All of these problems indicate a lack of routines, a poorly established circadian rhythm, and a lack of understanding about the nature of sleep itself. Erratic sleep schedules that change from day to day are prevalent and take a big toll on the parents. This book will help you understand and fix all of these issues.

While there are myriad books, articles, and blogs about baby sleep, this book contains the sleep research and scientific knowledge to help you understand which factors affect baby sleep, and which dont. Theres endless and often contradictory advice out there on how to Make a baby sleep through the night, and Whats best for baby. While some experts advocate baby-led feeding and sleeping, others believe in strict routines. Cosleeping, baby-carrying, nursing, cry-it-outthese various methods are pushed by their proponents with almost religious belief, making a case for how vital these practices are for babys health and well-being.

The reason parents are confused as to what to do is not a lack of information. The information is out there: on the internet, on the bookshelves, available for everybody to read. Many parents do just that. They reada lot. I was one of these parents! The problem is that the information is not consistent and doesnt lead to a clear picture of what is the best way to get baby on a schedule or to sleep through the night. Every author of a baby book, blog, or magazine article presents his or her advice with conviction, but everybody has a different opinion. Parents end up trying different things, which dont necessarily work, and jump from one approach to the next because they are not particularly convinced about one method over another. Thats because when it comes to baby sleep, scientific knowledge hasnt yet translated into common knowledge.

Its time that we brought our understanding of how babies sleep in line with the latest science. This isnt too different from the history of hygiene. For years, no one knew the true cause of many illnesses and diseases, because germs couldnt be seen by the naked eye. Just two hundred years ago, people still thought that washing oneself with water was bad, because water was considered toxic! But today, thanks to our advancements in science and technology, we know that germs make us sick. And we know that we can prevent illness by washing our hands regularly. Knowledge is power!

This book will arm you with the knowledge you need to help your baby sleep through the night. My program is grounded in biology and based on scientific discoveries from the past fifty years of research on circadian rhythms and sleep. My own work in Michael Youngs lab gave me firsthand insight into the vast amount of data we have on the subject of sleep, which leaves no doubt about certain key aspects of sleep regulation. All we have to do is translate this data into our day-to-day lives. The best part: its easy.