Investing in sleep education can create powerful change for family, but the challenge first is helping people to understand how a Sleep Consultant can provide the evidence-based knowledge, confidence and skills they need for success

The internet is rife with fitness advice. You can have a multitude of meal plans, workouts, schedules and demonstrations at the touch of a button. However, you can also get a range of conflicting advice about the best way to achieve success, whether it be intermittent fasting or carb-free, high-intensity classes or strength training. Any PT worth their runners will be able to distil this information and apply it to you and your situation. 

Similarly, with infant sleep the internet and social media can be a noisy place full of sleep guides, opinions, contradictions and judgments. Google doesn’t know your baby’s temperament, but you do. A search engine cannot suggest changes to your sleep scenario while keeping your parenting style in mind - but your sleep consultant can. By enlisting the help of a baby sleep consultant, you are gaining a guide that can help you navigate your journey towards better sleep. 

Like a good personal trainer, a good sleep consultant will start with you - your baby, your family, your sleep story. 

1. Personalised Goals

You would be pretty disappointed if you signed up with a Personal Trainer and they showed up to your first session with a fitness plan ready to go. You would expect them to first spend time getting to know you, your fitness history and what you hope to achieve in your time together. 

You would expect them to use their knowledge and expertise to help guide you towards what is realistic and achievable for you and your body. Your Sleep Consultant should be doing the same for you and your baby. 

Baby sleep is holistic with many different factors to consider - health, development, age, nutrition and sleep environment just to name a few. These considerations must be made through the lens of your baby, your family dynamic and your parenting style when you are establishing goals for your family.

2. Tailored Plan

Clear and realistic goals are the first step towards creating change in any situation. However, the path to reaching those goals can look different to different people. 

Some people will need to focus on increasing cardio activity to lose weight, while others will need to build muscle or increase fibre in their diet. The goal might be the same, but the way to the end looks very different.

For many parents, their goal is for their little one to sleep soundly through the night. However, the path towards that goal will be varied and unique to each family. The quickest way through is not always the answer. Sometimes, a slower and more gradual approach is the best way to support a child towards more settled nights. 

Ensure your sleep consultant can tailor advice and strategies that support your family best. 

3. Dynamic Feedback

If you are paying for a personal trainer, it's fair to expect them to watch you work out. They need to comment on your form, your choice of weights and how much rest you should be having.  They should be assessing the work out to see if the plan is working, or if they need to back off a bit or maybe push you a little bit more. 

A sleep consultant should be no different. You do not need to stick to a plan if it is not working - you pivot. If you have been trying to improve sleep for weeks and weeks and not seeing positive change, then the plan is not the right fit for your baby. The plan should only be a starting point while your sleep consultant gauges how your baby responds and offers adjustments to support.

A true expert can be responsive and dynamic in their approach to improved sleep. We use a dedicated tracking app, Rested which gives us a real-time view into your sleep scenario and helps ensure we offer clients the highest level of support and feedback.

4. Motivation and Accountability

Getting out of bed on a cold winter morning, or trying to muster the energy to get to the gym after work can feel pretty mammoth some days. But making the investment in a personal trainer and knowing someone is there working for you means you find a way to make it happen. You push through the hard, and there the magic happens.

Consistency is an essential part of creating change in your sleep scenario and having a sleep consultant who is checking sleep logs, touching base and asking questions means you will be much more likely to stay consistent and stick to the plan and see results.

Sometimes adulting can be hard, so having that extra push may be just what you need go create sustained change. 

5. Celebrate the Wins

While it feels good to have someone to support us in the things we find challenging, it is equally important to have a hype person too.  

A pat on the back for a job well done and recognition for the hard work gives us a hit of dopamine, that feel good hormone. When we reach that new PB at the gym, your personal trainer should be singing your praises because it was no small feat.

Waking up to a message from a client that their baby slept through the night releases the same hit of dopamine for a sleep consultant as it does in the parents. It is a vibe! And you need to have a sleep consultant for whom that feeling never gets old. 

Everyone benefits from having their own, personal cheerleader. 

6. Results

Ultimately, you engage a personal trainer or a sleep consultant to get results. 

And to get results, you have to be ready to make changes. Because if nothing changes, nothing changes. Make sure you understand what is driving your decision to seek support - and because someone else thinks you should is not a good reason.

How do you know you are ready for change?  The best way is to simply book a Discovery Call and chat through your current sleep scenario and let us help you work through your barriers and whether or not we are the right fit for your sleep success.

References:

Understanding Sleep Coaches: Increasing Access to Evidence-Based Sleep Support for Caregivers. Stern, Hillary Gemma.   Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2023. 30248248.

Caregivers' Knowledge, Behavior, and Attitudes Regarding Healthy Sleep in Young Children, Judith A. Owens, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.S.M., Caroline Jones, M.Sc., M.A., Rachel Nash, Sc.B.