The scientific evidence on possible sleep pathologies in children has been increasing over the last few years. Research work has been constant and, thanks to the contribution of many specialist doctors, it has been possible to diagnose cases and discover new treatments for very specific pathologies.
With regard to children’s sleep, the discoveries have allowed us to combine knowledge from areas as different as pediatrics, clinical neurophysiology, pedagogy, neurobiology and psychology.
The latest research offers a whole series of data on how the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus (our biological clock located in the brain) matures and transforms in the first months of life. This evidence has served to establish causal relationships between the sleep variable and age. They have also helped us to delve deeper into questions that had not previously been explored in depth. Thanks to fields such as psychology and pedagogy, it is possible to know how habits and routines are formed, for example, the reasons why a baby wakes up in the middle of the night and interrupts his sleep.
All this information has led infant sleep specialists to establish a dialogue with parents to offer them rules and advice, with the aim of improving issues related to infant sleep.
Estivill Method, the manual for getting babies to sleep
Consultations on infant insomnia problems have been held since 1989. The experience accumulated with more than 15,000 patients and the publications made, support the solvency of the concepts expressed in different popularization books on how to treat children’s sleep problems.
In 1996 a series of conclusions were published on new scientific advances from different disciplines and updated with the latest knowledge obtained. This work of synthesis was materialized in the book Duérmete Niño, which was a great success thanks to the solvency of the contents, the effectiveness of the recommendations carried out by parents and the work of many specialists from different disciplines.
The routines and norms exposed to solve the problems related to infant sleep were catalogued by parents as the Estivill Method. Currently, the updated version of the book Sleep Child includes all the new discoveries on the subject. The goal is to continue to provide parents with new knowledge that complements previously published knowledge.