Sleep machines

Sounds Asleep with Sleep Machines?

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Sleep machines

Photo by Microsoft Office

Most moms have had a moment (or ten or 1,000) when they declared, “I’d give anything for good night’s sleep!” New parents once had to pace the floor, drive the neighborhood, or prop up fans, but that all changed with the invention of sound machines. When parents find themselves battling colicky characteristics, they’re even more desperate to find relief! Babies come home now to sound machines in stuffed animals, clipped on furniture, poised on night stands, or generated by iPhone apps. Are there potential dangers in consistent use of a white noise producer? What should expectant parents consider before they turn cross their fingers and turn up the sound for baby?

Sleep machines aren’t always dreamy

Depending on how we use them, sleep machines might hurt more than help. Early this year, a study shared in the journal Pediatrics reported research led by Dr. Papsin, the chief otolaryngologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The work looked at 14 widely used sleep machines in the US and Canada. Machines were tested at maximum volume from about the distance typically placed in relation to a baby. Three of the machines in the group exceeded 85 decibels, which is more than the safe limit for grown ups in a work setting over an 8 hour shift.

Not all sleep machines are created equal, but the study showed popular options are not that different. Neonatal units adopted a 50 decibel limit in 1999, and all 14 of the machines in the study exceeded that limit at a distance of just 100 centimeters from the infant. Dr. Papsi said that, “Farther away is less dangerous, a lower volume is better and shorter durations of time, all things that deliver less sound pressure to the baby.”

So what’s a tired parent to do?

  1. Keep machines out of the crib and off of the crib rail
  2. Play machines at a low volume and pitch
  3. Check the decibels of your machine with a smartphone app
  4. Give baby’s developing hearing some true quiet time
  5. Don’t start sleep habits you don’t want to continue

Learning to fall asleep and learning to fall back to sleep is a process. Carefully consider the routines you set for your infants and children (and yourself!). If we aren’t careful, we can create a “high-maintenance” sleeper or damage a child’s auditory development. Instead of going for what seems easiest at the moment, do your homework, weigh your options, and grow your child’s sleeping patterns for a lifetime of sweet dreams!

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)

So what mama-tricks do you use to tuck your little ones in and help them sleep like a baby?

Julie Sanders
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