Why This Three-Year-Old Never Slept

A fascinating documentary about sleep disorders in children.

I came across this documentary about a 3-year-old who averaged 5 hours of sleep/night. After years of sleepless nights, an epilepsy misdiagnosis, a sleep study at the most renowned children's clinic in London, Jessica was finally diagnosed with 'Sleep Eidetic Imagery Disorder.'

Sometimes I get judged for 'sleep training' children but I realize that the people who judge have never experienced a sleep disorder. I have. The level of sleep deprivation can become alarming. Sleep deprivation is dangerous for a child's development and for the health of the parents. This little girl's condition was completely behavioral, just like sleep onset association disorder (the inability of a baby/toddler to fall asleep on their own). It was 100% remediated by a change in her nightly routine and a consistent sleep plan. She simply went from 5 hours (or less) of sleep a night to 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep in 3 nights of sleep conditioning. So smooth, so easy; her mom couldn't believe it.

Not all babies/toddlers need to be sleep trained or conditioned. If your kiddo sleeps great, congratulations, you have an unicorn baby! :) But if you are dealing with sleepless nights and running on caffeine, maybe you should look into it.

Not all sleep conditioning plans are created equal, sleep conditioning does not have to involve the cry-it-out method, and sleep conditioning will not hurt your child. Sleep conditioning will help your baby set a solid, healthy sleep foundation that will carry throughout their lifetime.