Scientists have identified the best way to soothe a crying baby to sleep.

Researchers in Japan have found that crying babies are physiologically affected by being held, carried and laid down, and have identified evidence-based soothing strategies. biology today.

In this strategy, the caregiver holds and walks the baby for 5 minutes without jerking, followed by holding the baby in a sitting position for 5 to 8 minutes, and then laying him/her down to sleep.

“Many parents suffer from babies crying at night,” says Kumi Kuroda, Ph.D., lead author of the RIKEN Brain Science Research Center in Japan. “This is a big problem, especially for inexperienced parents, and can lead to parental stress and, in some cases, child abuse.”

Kuroda and her team previously found in both distressed mouse pups and human babies a ‘transportation response’ that calms the babies when carried by their mothers. Through complex biological processes, this response results in less crying and a slower heart rate, helping parents carry their babies more efficiently.

Now, the researchers wanted to compare the effects of transport responses to other strategies parents use to calm their infants. heart rate and behavioral changes in crying infants (newborn to 7 months of age) in four different conditions (held by a walking mother, seated, and lying). ) were systematically compared. Lying in a stationary crib or in a stroller that rocks back and forth.

They found that a crying baby’s heart rate slowed and calmed down within 30 seconds of being held by the mother while walking. This did not occur when the mother held the baby in a sitting position or laid the baby in the crib.

Read more: See who’s talking: Parents in Wellington, New Zealand top baby stories

This finding suggests that holding a baby alone may not be enough to soothe a crying baby. The effect was even more pronounced, as all babies stopped crying and fell half asleep after five minutes of holding and walking.

“A five-minute walk promoted sleep, but only in crying infants. Surprisingly, this effect was absent when babies were pre-soothing,” Kuroda adds.

The authors suggest that walking should be done “at a steady pace along flat, clear paths, preferably without abrupt stops or turns.”

However, when the mother tried to put the baby to sleep, more than one-third regained consciousness within 20 seconds. The team found that all babies have a physiological response to being separated from their mothers, but the longer babies slept before laying down, the less likely they were to wake up during the process. Become.

“As a mother of four children, I was very surprised by this result. (Mr. Kuroda). “However, our experiments did not support these general assumptions.”

Based on their findings, sitting and holding your baby for an additional five to eight minutes before putting him to sleep may make your baby less likely to wake up.

Although the experiment was limited to mothers, Kuroda anticipates that any caregiver would likely experience similar effects.

“For many people, we parent intuitively and listen to other people’s parenting advice without testing our methods with rigorous science. It’s much more complex and diverse than it used to be, so we need science to understand its behavior,” says Kuroda.

“We are developing a ‘baby tech’ wearable device that allows parents to check their baby’s physiological status in real time on their smartphones,” concludes Kuroda. “Science-Based Fitness Like his workouts, science-based parenting can be done with these advances. It can reduce stress.”