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Study explained: An 8-min wait before crib transfer works for baby’s uninterrupted sleep.

By on September 14, 2022

Just when you thought your baby finally falls asleep in your arms, he wakes again and starts crying when laid in the crib.

Sounds familiar?  A baby waking through the night, demanding your full attention can be stressful.

It doesn’t have to be according to a study made by an international scientific team composed of Japanese researchers. The study finds that waiting five to eight minutes after a baby starts to doze off while being held and rocked in arms will not interrupt the sleep during the crib transfer.

The science-proven soothing strategy was a result of experiments carried out in Japan and Italy and published in the US journal Current Biology on Wednesday.

Senior author Kumi Kuroda, a researcher at Japan’s Riken Center for Brain Science, carried out the study involving 21 seven-month old and younger babies, examining patterns of how babies fall asleep, including changes in their heartbeat rates.

They were tested under four conditions: carrying while moving, held still by their sitting mothers, lying in a still crib, or lying in a rocking cot.

There was reduced sobbing and heart rates slowed within 30 seconds when babies were transported. A similar result was observed when they were rocked, but not when held motionless. This suggests that, unlike what many parents assume, just holding a sleeping baby is not enough to calm a child. The transport response was the key.

The study shows too babies are awakened not by the feeling of their back against a crib but by being detached from their mothers’ bodies. When infants were transferred to the crib, more than one-third became alert within 20 seconds. Electrocardiogram readings showed the babies’ heart rates rose the second they were detached from their mother’s bodies.

When the babies were put to sleep for a longer period of time before moving them to the crib, they were less likely to awaken.

Kuroda said in a video statement, “I have raised four children but even I couldn’t foresee the key results of this study until the statistical data came up.”

Based on their overall findings, parents are advised to follow a protocol to sooth and promote baby’s sleep: hold the baby and walk for five minutes, then sit.  Hold them for another five to eight minutes, before transferring the infant to the crib.

Unlike letting a baby cry themselves to sleep, this method provides immediate comfort.

The study’s authors hope the technique could reduce stress in parents, particularly the inexperienced.

 

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