The Nurture Revolution: Grow Your Baby's Brain and Transform Their Mental Health through the Art of Nurtured Parenting

by Greer Kirshenbaum

In short, nurtured infant sleep is a regulated caregiver supporting the development of circadian rhythms; learning and noticing your infant’s communication of tired cues and providing sleep opportunities when your baby is tired; nurturing your baby to sleep with co-regulation, feeding, cuddling, rocking or carrying at naps, bedtime, and when they have night wakings; sleeping close to your baby; and prioritizing your sleep with support from others.

The best way to put your baby to sleep is whatever way they feel the most safe and calm.

Infants have a survival instinct to be close to adults and benefit from emotional contagion, mirroring your emotions, and autonomic and motor mimicry, mirroring your physiology; a caregiver’s relaxed or sleeping mind and body influence the baby’s mind and body—they feel calm; their breathing, heart rate, oxygen, and glucose are all regulated; and their heart rate is higher and less variable.35

Solitary sleep, meaning sleeping alone, changes infant sleep architecture toward a reduction in REM sleep and an increase in NREM sleep and fewer arousals.38 This is not ideal, because REM sleep is necessary for the brain to consolidate learning and memory and form new connections. Too much time in NREM sleep is a risk factor for SIDS and takes away from time in REM sleep.

studies have found that bedsharing infants are more independent preschoolers, with enriched cognition indicative of a resilient stress system and well-developed thinking brain.

Being in nature regularly is a physical need and it signals safety to your brain. Looking at nature reduces stress. Trees and plants release compounds that we smell and that directly decrease our stress. Walking in nature reduces brain activity in depressive circuits in our brain, including the hippocampus, to lower stress and decrease depression.