SUBSCRIBE
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Health For Mzansi
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
    • Health Heroes
    • TV
  • Grow It
  • My Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
No Result
View All Result
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
    • Health Heroes
    • TV
  • Grow It
  • My Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
No Result
View All Result
Health For Mzansi

Tips and tricks to help your baby sleep better

by Staff Reporter
1st July 2022
in Trending
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Research shows that early establishment of a bedtime between seven and eight o’clock will help babies sleep longer. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Research shows that early establishment of a bedtime between seven and eight o’clock will help babies sleep longer. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

New moms and dads not only want their new babies to sleep because they are tired, but also because it is beneficial to their health. In a study called INSIGHT, researchers spent a decade equipping newborn parents with the skills to help their infants sleep throughout the night. Little or no sleep may cause a child to become obese later in life.

The researchers from the Penn State Centre for Childhood Obesity Research trained parents how to respond to infant behaviour states like fussiness, alertness, drowsiness, and sleeping. Training included advice on bedtime routines and responding to night time waking.

New research from Penn State shows that parenting-skills training can help multiple babies in the same family sleep longer. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Keeping alert for your baby

The INSIGHT study or intervention began in 2012 with researchers training 279 mothers of first-born infants in responsive parenting practices.

Responsive parenting involves responding to children in a timely, sensitive, and age-appropriate manner, based on the child’s presenting needs.

As the INSIGHT study progressed, it led investigators to explore whether the training also affected children who were born later into INSIGHT families, explains Emily Hohman, assistant research professor in CCOR.

“Many parents say things like, ‘Oh, I did everything right with my first child, and then I had no time for the others,'” she says.

“So, in order to understand whether the effects of INSIGHT spill over to other siblings, we launched a new study where we do not provide any training or intervention for parents or children. We just track information about second-born children in families where mothers received the INSIGHT training for their first-born.”

Promoting better sleep for parent and baby

The study trained mothers, but responsive parenting skills are useful for anyone who provides care to children. At bedtime, responsive parenting involves establishing healthy routines, responding to children according to their development and needs, and teaching children to soothe themselves as much as possible.

For parents who do not know anything about responsive parenting, Hohman recommends starting by establishing a bedtime. “People sometimes think that if they keep their babies awake with them later at night, then the baby will sleep later. But the research shows that early establishment of a bedtime between seven and eight o’clock will help babies sleep longer,” says Hohman.

Research shows that responsive parenting strategies including a regular bedtime and putting a baby to bed while drowsy but not asleep can increase the amount of time that a baby sleeps. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

Once a regular bedtime is established, research indicates that consistent bedtime routines also promote longer sleep. The routine should be soothing and include things like baths and reading, while avoiding overly stimulating activities like playing. The routine will help the child prepare for sleep. Additionally, infants who are not yet rolling over, can be swaddled to increase their sense of calm.

To help children learn to soothe themselves to sleep, parents are encouraged to put their children to bed while they are drowsy but still awake. Self-soothing is a valuable skill, and the sooner children learn it, the better they and their parents will sleep.

Self-soothing essential

Night time waking is inevitable. Newborns and infants wake throughout the night for many reasons, including hunger. This does not mean that feeding should always be a parent’s first response when their baby wakes. Hohman and her colleagues encourage parents to use “lighter touch” soothing methods like offering the baby a pacifier, words of reassurance, and gentle touches. More engaged soothing, like holding, rocking and feeding, should only be used if the baby remains distressed or shows signs of hunger.

“No one likes to hear their baby cry, and everyone wants to get back to sleep as soon as possible,” explains Hohman.

“But a baby can only learn to soothe themselves when they are not being soothed by someone else. During the daytime, parents should feel free to use more active soothing strategies like holding or rocking, but these should be used more judiciously at night time in order to promote better sleep.”

Helping families everywhere

The study results indicate that intervening with first-time parents could be an efficient way to help multiple children in a family.

“Our outcomes suggest that paediatricians may have a new tool to help promote better infant sleeping and prevent unhealthy infant weight gain,” Hohman says. “Paediatricians typically have a lot of visits with new families. If those clinicians help new parents build responsive parenting skills, the benefits could extend to the parents, their newborns, and any potential future children in those families.”

ALSO READ: How to introduce your baby to solids

Tags: BabieschildcareSleep
Staff Reporter

Staff Reporter

Related Articles

Trending

FS clinic upgrade stalls, forces patients into cramped church

by Tladi Moloi
19th June 2025
Kombucha
My Health

Kombucha: The tangy tea that’s good for your gut

by Candice Khumalo and Vateka Halile
17th June 2025

Stories

HIV and initiation: Supporting boys through cultural rites
Security fails as gangs target Eastern Cape clinics
Dr Makanya blends spiritual healing with art therapy
Canola oil: A heart-healthy choice for your kitchen
No more pain! Tackle the torment of toothaches
How smoking causes harmful bacteria in your mouth
Discover delicious, healthy dishes that will make your heart sing
Rediscover the joy of creamy pap with chicken livers
No Result
View All Result

Latest

Trending

FS clinic upgrade stalls, forces patients into cramped church

by Tladi Moloi
19th June 2025

Since 2022, the people of Tsheseng in the Free State have waited for their clinic to reopen. Instead, they're treated...

Read moreDetails
Pineapple tea is Mzansi’s medicine in a mug

Pineapple tea is Mzansi’s medicine in a mug

18th June 2025
Kombucha

Kombucha: The tangy tea that’s good for your gut

17th June 2025

From farm to fork: How red meat fuels jobs and plates across SA

17th June 2025

Stem cell hero: How one decision changed Mfundo’s world

16th June 2025
Health For Mzansi

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824

News: hello@healthformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

Awards & Impact
Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy
Copyright

Somagwaza

HIV and initiation: Supporting boys through cultural rites

cropped-scott-webb-yekGLpc3vro-unsplash.jpeg

Security fails as gangs target Eastern Cape clinics

Dr Sinethemba Makanya

Dr Makanya blends spiritual healing with art therapy

FS clinic upgrade stalls, forces patients into cramped church

Pineapple tea is Mzansi’s medicine in a mug

Kombucha: The tangy tea that’s good for your gut

From farm to fork: How red meat fuels jobs and plates across SA

Stem cell hero: How one decision changed Mfundo’s world

Students want to eat well, but can’t afford to

error: Content is protected !!
No Result
View All Result
  • Trending
  • My Health
  • Conversations
    • Podcast
    • Health Heroes
    • TV
  • Grow It
  • My Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes

© 2021 Health For Mzansi | Farmers For Change Pty (Ltd)

HIV and initiation: Supporting boys through cultural rites Security fails as gangs target Eastern Cape clinics Dr Makanya blends spiritual healing with art therapy Canola oil: A heart-healthy choice for your kitchen No more pain! Tackle the torment of toothaches How smoking causes harmful bacteria in your mouth Discover delicious, healthy dishes that will make your heart sing Rediscover the joy of creamy pap with chicken livers