Sleep training methods: which one suits your baby?
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Written by the Watch My Baby team. Each method's duration and steps come from its own author's book or website, and so do the age limits, except the 4-month floor for cry it out, which is ours because its author favors starting earlier. This page has not been reviewed by a physician; it is for information only and its sources are listed at the end.
Sleep training is the umbrella name for behavioral methods that help a baby learn to fall asleep on their own in their own bed. The five best known are the chair method, the Ferber method, cry it out, no-cry sleep training and pick up, put down. They differ in how much crying they allow, how long the parent stays in the room and how long they take.
The five methods at a glance
| Method | Age | Duration | Crying | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chair method | 6 months and up (4 at the earliest) | 14–21 days | Mild | In the room, moving away |
| Cry it out | 4 months and up | 3–4 nights | Heavy | Not in the room |
| Ferber method | 4 months and up | 3–7 days | Moderate | Brief check-ins |
| No tears (no-cry) | 4 months–2 years | 21+ days | Very little | Beside the baby |
| Pick up, put down | 4–12 months | At least 3 days | Light | Beside the baby, holding |
How to choose
How much crying can you live with?
If listening to your baby cry is very hard for you, start with the chair, no-cry or pick up, put down method. A fast method you abandon halfway works less well than a slow one you see through.
How old is your baby?
The authors of the chair, no-cry and pick up, put down methods don't recommend structured sleep training before 4 months; before then, habits such as a regular routine and putting down awake come first (West 2010, Pantley 2002, Hogg 2005). Pick up, put down was written for 4 to 12 months and no-cry for 4 months to 2 years; for the chair method its author suggests around 6 months. Ferber and cry it out are described here for babies older than 4 months. The babies in the studies were 6 to 16 months old (Hiscock 2002, Gradisar 2016).
How much time do you have?
According to their authors, cry it out takes 3 to 4 nights and Ferber about a week. With the chair method, progress starts within 5 to 10 nights and the program runs 2 to 3 weeks. No-cry moves in 10-day steps and usually takes 3 weeks or longer.
Does your presence calm your baby?
Some babies settle when they see their parent; others wake up more and want to play. The first group may do better with the chair or no-cry method, the second with a short check-in method such as Ferber.
Before you start
- Put your baby to sleep on their back on a firm, flat surface, with no pillows, quilts, toys or bumpers in the crib. Sharing a room but not a bed is recommended for at least the first 6 months (AAP 2022).
- Keep the room cool and avoid overheating; the suggested room temperature is about 16 to 20 °C, or 61 to 68 °F (NHS).
- Do a short routine in the same order every night: bath, pajamas, a book, a song. The routine tells your baby that sleep is coming.
- Move the feed to the start of the routine and put your baby down drowsy but awake. A baby who falls asleep at the breast or in your arms expects the same help when they wake at night.
- Agree on the method with your partner in advance and pick a stretch of about three weeks without big changes (West 2010). Doing it the same way every night matters as much as which method you choose.
When not to start, or when to pause
- While your baby is ill, teething or unsettled after a vaccination.
- Right after a big change such as a move, travel, starting daycare or a new sibling.
- If your baby was born premature, has trouble gaining weight or has a health condition such as reflux or breathing problems: talk to your pediatrician first.
- If you plan to drop night feeds, ask your doctor first whether your baby is ready. Sleep training doesn't mean ending night feeds.
Does sleep training harm babies?
In a 5-year follow-up study, children who had behavioral sleep training as babies did not differ at age 6 from children who had not, in emotional health, behavior, chronic stress or their relationship with their parents. No lasting benefit was found either (Price 2012).
In a study comparing graduated extinction with bedtime fading, babies' stress hormone (cortisol) did not rise but fell slightly, and a year later there was no difference in attachment (Gradisar 2016). In the short term, sleep problems eased and mothers' symptoms of depression went down (Hiscock 2002, Hiscock 2007).
A review of 52 studies for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that behavioral methods worked for the large majority of children and that the effect lasted for months (Mindell 2006).
Follow the program night by night.
The sleep coach suggests a method and a backup for your baby in seven questions. Every night of the program you choose, with its wait times and a timer, is in the app.
Sources
- Mindell J. A., Kuhn B., Lewin D. S., Meltzer L. J., Sadeh A. (2006). Behavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children. Sleep, 29(10), 1263–1276. (Research)
- Price A. M. H., Wake M., Ukoumunne O. C., Hiscock H. (2012). Five-year follow-up of harms and benefits of behavioral infant sleep intervention: randomized trial. Pediatrics, 130(4), 643–651. (Research)
- Gradisar M. et al. (2016). Behavioral interventions for infant sleep problems: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics, 137(6). (Research)
- Hiscock H., Wake M. (2002). Randomised controlled trial of behavioural infant sleep intervention to improve infant sleep and maternal mood. BMJ, 324, 1062–1065. (Research)
- Hiscock H. et al. (2007). Improving infant sleep and maternal mental health: a cluster randomised trial. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 92(11), 952–958. (Research)
- Moon R. Y. et al., American Academy of Pediatrics (2022). Sleep-related infant deaths: updated 2022 recommendations for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment. Pediatrics, 150(1). (Guideline)
- NHS. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): how to reduce the risk. (Guideline)
- West K. (2010). Good Night, Sleep Tight. Revised edition; and “The Sleep Lady Shuffle”, sleeplady.com. (Method's author)
- Pantley E. (2002). The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night. (Method's author)
- Hogg T., Blau M. (2005). The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems. (Method's author)