Sleep, or lack of, disturbs the whole family. Parents that are struggling to get, or keep, their child asleep can feel confused, stressed and exhausted … which inevitably the child picks up on. And for children, the effects of sleep deprivation can lead to lifelong problems.

Studies have shown that kids who regularly get an adequate amount of sleep have improved attention, behavior, learning, memory, and overall mental and physical health. Whereas not getting enough sleep can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, depression and learning problems.

Navigating a child's sleeping schedule can be incredibly challenging, but achieving good sleep for both parent and baby is a crucial component of emotional, mental, cognitive and physical health.

Lucy Wolfe, is a leading sleep consultant and author of the best-selling books: The Baby Sleep Solution and All About the Baby Sleep Solution. Lucy works with parents on a one-to-one basis, providing a bespoke sleeping plan, together with quality guidance, support, relational safety, and compassion. Lucy is also the resident sleep contributor on Virgin Media One's breakfast show in Ireland, a regular media contributor and has a strong presence on social media with a large following.

In this episode of The Happier Life project, host Gabby asks Lucy for her thoughts on areas that divide a lot of parents such as co-sleeping, sweet comfort treats before bedtime and whether to let their infant cry themselves to sleep when trying to get down for the night in their own room.

For more on Lucy, her courses and books: https://sleepmatters.ie/