Sleeping like a baby_英文原版

in some good news for parents who wage bedtime struggles with their children, a new study shows that various forms of "sleep training" can put kids' sleep difficulties to rest.

in a review of 52 previous studies, a panel gathered by the american academy of sleep medicine found that a number of behavioural approaches can help children learn to fall asleep, and stay asleep, without a fuss.

these include methods like teaching children how to "self-soothe'' themselves back to sleep when they wake at night, and creating quiet bedtime rituals that children enjoy.

across the studies the panel reviewed, more than 80 per cent of children who received sleep training showed significant improvements in their bedtime behaviour, according to findings published in the journal sleep.

"we know that sleep training works,'' said the study's lead author, dr jodi mindell of st joseph's university in philadelphia. and parents should know there are plenty of resources out there to help them, she said.

with young children, "bedtime refusal'' is often the issue; they may cry, cling to their parents or "stall'' by repeatedly asking for food, a drink or a story. with babies, it's frequent nighttime wakings that last past the first few months of life.

but the exact definition of a "problem'' behaviour is personal, mindell said. parents have to decide if their children's bedtime habits are affecting daytime behaviour - making them irritable or inattentive, for instance - or affecting the rest of the family.