Sleep pressure comes up a lot in my conversation with the clients I work with and I imagine you might have heard it mentioned and wondered what on earth it means. Oftentimes the first time I mention it to a new client I get a questioning look, and I don’t blame you. This would have been me before I became a sleep consultant! What is sleep pressure? In a nutshell, without enough sleep pressure, we Read more…
Almost all the different physiological processes in our bodies are governed by a circadian rhythm including alertness, heart rate, mood, digestion, and sleep. Due to the earth revolving around the sun in a 24 hour period our circadian rhythms have adjusted to doing the same. Our body clock is the system in our body which helps to regulate our sleep and wake timing which then governs our circadian rhythm. Doing the same thing every day Read more…
Just like so many other regressions that happen for our little ones this regression is to do with developmental milestones. The 8 – 10 month sleep regression, unlike the 4-month one, doesn’t have anything to do with sleep milestones though. At this age, babies are going through lots of mental and physical milestones including crawling, scooting, sitting up pulling up and cruising. Babies are also absorbing a lot of language, begin to understand object permanence Read more…
We know that the witching hour is quite common in newborn babies, and though it is difficult to deal with, it does tend to hit a peak and then start to improve around the 6 – 8 week mark. But did you know that older babies and toddlers can also experience their own version of the witching hour? Toddlers and older babies can have a period of time, in the late afternoon and early evening, Read more…
Separation anxiety can rear its head when a baby is between 6 to 9 months old. Many parents worry that it will make sleep times worse and they call me not knowing what to do. Or I get a call saying their baby is now crying a lot at bedtime and no longer sleeping independently due to separation anxiety. I’d like to tell you though, that there is a way your baby can sleep as Read more…
Some children are prone to night terrors, whereas other children wake up in the night crying for other reasons entirely. Night terrors in children can be scary, but they don’t tend to adversely affect them and there are definitely things you can do to help your child sleep through the night uninterrupted again. Recently we’ve determined that my youngest suffers from night terrors. Picture this: my husband and I are relaxing in the living room Read more…
When you decide you want to hire a Child Sleep Consultant to help you with your sleep challenges it can be a bit overwhelming to work out who the best person is to hire. There are so many sleep consultants out there and with the industry not being regulated, and no single board granting certification, it is important to do your homework so you can feel confident you are choosing the right Child Sleep Consultant Read more…
One of the hardest parts of being a mom to a newborn baby is being up all times of the day and night, not knowing how long they’ll sleep for and when their longest stretch of sleep will be. While this is completely normal because of day and night confusion, there are things we can do to help. What is day and night confusion? Day and night confusion is when a newborn baby sleeps around Read more…
When your child starts to talk about fears at night time which leads to delays in bedtime or overnight wakings it can be hard to know what do to. Nighttime fears can be scary stuff for kids, but they can also lead to ongoing problems at sleep times, which can be a sticky situation to get out of. We want our kids to know that we are there for them, but not to the point Read more…
I have found through conversations with school kids, teachers and parents of elementary school-aged kids that there are so many school-age children having sleep problems. This can lead to problems in concentration at school, learning and retaining the information; behavior concerns both at home and at school and physical health. Given this, it is important to prioritize kids’ sleep so they can grow, learn and thrive. Why they might not get the sleep they need. Read more…