You’ve got questions, and Dr. Lisa Shives, our sleep expert, will answer them! We gather sleep questions from our Facebook page, and Dr. Shives answers them right here. In this installment, Dr. Lisa answers a question from someone who wonders whether co-sleeping helps babies sleep better…
Warren Marler asks: I know views differ widely on this, and I feel it is up to the each family to choose what is right for their family, but what are you feeling regarding children sleeping in the parents bed? Do you think they get a better quality sleep?
Dr. Lisa says: No, I don’t think that they get better sleep. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics has officially recommended that infants and children sleep in their own beds. Therefore, “co-sleeping”, meaning having children, especially babies, in the bed with adults is not recommended as safe. There is an increased risk of SIDS and suffocation, and certainly we do not think that children get better sleep. Too many adults have poor sleep hygiene and untreated sleep disorders, and so we believe that children will likely get better rest if they are in their own beds.
Dr. Shives works with SleepBetter.org to provide a medical view of sleep issues. She is one of only a few practitioners with a fellowship in Sleep Medicine in addition to board certification by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
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