Comments on: Can You Teach Baby to Sleep Through Noise?

By: Debbye

Debbye — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 04:05:43 +0000

Hi Lucine,
Thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts on the matter! We’ve all got to do what is right for our baby, our family, and what works for one will not work for another! You are certainly right about some of us needing to say no to “noise training!” And we should follow our best parental instincts too!
Thanks again!

By: Lucine Drake

Lucine Drake — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:02:46 +0000

Thanks for your blog. I am very interested in this topic as I’ve found it raised a couple of times just in the past week- first my accountant advises me how proud he is that he raised his twin boys napping with plenty of noise, then a new mother who mentioned she wanted to “train” her newborn to get used to sleeping in noisy situations. So I looked for the research. What I’ve found, as others have, is that there isn’t much, so we have to extrapolate based on the research we do have. We know that there is light sleep and deep sleep, that we are more easily awakened during light, and less so from deep. We know that in research-based situations, those who are submitted to noise and other disruptions will go more quickly into deep sleep, which is a sign of sleep deprivation. We also have preliminary findings that there are individual differences in noise tolerance during sleep. We also know that the ration of light v. deep is different based on the age of the child. Newborns are terribly difficult to keep alert–just a qualitative difference, no training required here 🙂 What I extrapolate from all this is that submitting a child to noise with the expectation that it will train them to sleep through it might result in what appears a child that successfully sleeps through the noise….what is actually happening is that the child is going more quickly into deep sleep due to sleep deprivation. So now the question is: why are you trying to train your child to sleep through loud noise? Is it for your convenience, or is the quality of your child’s sleep more important to you? Personally (and the research shows) that quality sleep is critical for physical and mental development and wellbeing. Say no to “noise training.”

By: Debbye

Debbye — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:59:56 +0000

@Suzan- Thank you for writing! Like mother like baby in many light sleeper cases! 🙂

@Bri- Good point about the previous comment! I hope whatever you chose to do about the white noise worked out well! Please share if you have a chance!

@Victoria Roe- SO true! Our kids had no chance of being solid sleepers as my husband and I are such light sleepers! We often use white noise in our room at night too! Thanks for writing!

By: Victoria Roe

Victoria Roe — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:09:46 +0000

Thank the Lord for this advice! All my 3 kids have been light sleepers and just like Nicole Johnson I tend not to even enter my 6 month old son’s room before going to bed for fear of waking him with a creaky floorboard etc!!However, I do have a relaxing cd on repeat for the whole time he sleeps just to drown out any sudden background noises of people outside or dogs barking etc.So take note in-laws and parents that it is not just me being paranoid – my kids are light sleepers just like me and as Nicole says I can’t sleep through dogs barking etc so neither should my kids!!

By: Bri

Bri — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:50:10 +0000

Wow. This article and the comments were enlightening. I have a 9 month old and her sound machine just stopped working. It is a big decision for us whether we want to try to let her sleep without it. She seems to be a light sleeper in that some mild noises wake her even with the sound machine. However, the first night with no machine has gone well. Decisions, decisions.

By the way, I love the person who wrote in about what they will do when they have kids. Why would they even be reading this??! Funny.

By: Suzan

Suzan — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:54:44 +0000

Thank uuuuu! Reading this made me reliefed and assured me am on the right track. I heard that comment million times. It made me think i do sth wrong in the way i deal with my baby’s sleep habits. I thought if i couldnt sleepwith the doors slapping or people talking loudly then my baby would not too. When i tried to put him in such environment all i got was an over tiered baby. White noise and a quite room is just perfect for him.

By: Debbye

Debbye — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:56:36 +0000

Hi Jess-
Thank you for sharing! That is So true! 🙂

By: JessDK

JessDK — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:48:37 +0000

@E,

Parenting is a great lesson in selfless-ness. You don’t have to have children if you don’t want to. Because they will change your life forever! And for the better. I used to believe that kids should not affect my adult fun. BUT, then I grew up. And my son came along. And he’s changed EVERYTHING! And I’m glad to have him in my life. Sometimes it’s hard to give up some things I’ve come to enjoy, but having my son healthy and happy is so worth the small sacrifices. I love him. As a parent, you love your kids….

By: Debbye

Debbye — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:49:45 +0000

@ Perawatan- Thank you for your kind words! We hope you keep reading!

@ Brooke- Dr. Sears is a great resource for families. Thanks for sharing!

By: Brooke

Brooke — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:58:57 +0000

@E-

Geez E, I’d hate to be your child. Maybe you should read up some info by one of the best pediatricians out there, Dr. Sears.