Is Your Baby Waking Too Much? What a 2022 Brain Study Found

Sign up to my newsletter to read my blog posts about these studies :) https://babybiology.co.uk/#newsletter Is your baby waking at night? Good. Here's why. Researchers at Birkbeck University's Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development tracked 76 babies between 4 and 14 months, measuring night waking alongside EEG brain activity. What they found challenges the idea that night waking is simply a problem to solve. I also look at a 2024 systematic review in the journal Sleep — which analysed 22 studies and couldn't conclusively establish that night waking harms cognitive development. In some studies, less sleep was actually linked to higher developmental scores. Night waking is biologically normal. The question isn't how to stop it — it's how to understand it. Studies referenced: Gosse et al. (2022) — Developmental Psychobiology, Birkbeck University of London Butler et al. (2024) — SLEEP, Oxford Academic (systematic review, 22 studies) Subscribe for science-based parenting content: @mumscience I am not a medical professional. Always consult your GP or health visitor with concerns about your baby's sleep.