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Page 1 of 4 The Benefits of Co-Sleeping (From the API News - Spring 2002. © 2002 Attachment Parenting International - www.attachmentparenting.org)
When it comes to research about co-sleeping, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that there is research to suggest that there are benefits to parents and infants who share a bed (or room) through the night. The bad news is that, beyond the research into the connection between co-sleeping and SIDS prevention, there's not much being done that inquires into its qualitative or long-term aspects. Until this type of research is done, we must continue to draw from the good work that is being done within the American culture, as well as from studies conducted in other cultures abroad.
What Research Shows
Benefits for infants
Co-sleeping promotes physiological regulation. The proximity of the parent may help the infant's immature nervous system learn to self-regulate during sleep (Farooqi, 1994; Mitchell, 1997; Mosko, 1996; Nelson, 1996; Skragg, 1996). It may also help prevent SIDS by preventing the infant from entering into sleep states that are too deep. In addition, the parents' own breathing may help the infant to "remember" to breathe (McKenna, 1990; Mosko, 1996; Richard, 1998).
Parents and infants sleep better. Because of the proximity of the mother, babies do not have to fully wake and cry to get a response. As a result, mothers can tend to the infant before either of them are fully awake (McKenna). As a result, mothers were more likely to have positive evaluations of their nighttime experiences (McKenna, 1994) because they tended to sleep better and wake less fully (McKenna & Mosko, 1997).
Babies get more caregiving. Co-sleeping increases breastfeeding (Clements, 1997; McKenna, 1994; Richard et al., 1996). Even the conservative American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) admits to the breastfeeding advantages of co-sleeping (Hauck, 1998). Mothers who co-sleep breastfeed an average of twice as long as non-co-sleeping mothers (McKenna). In addition to the benefits of breastfeeding, the act of sucking increases oxygen flow, which is beneficial for both growth and immune functions. Co-sleeping infants also get more attention and protective care. Mothers who co-sleep exhibited five times the number of "protective" behaviors (such as adjusting the infant's blanket, stroking or cuddling) as solitary-sleeping mothers (McKenna & Mosko, 1997). These mothers also showed an increased sensitivity to the presence of the baby in the bed (McKenna).
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