What is a sleep association?

A sleep association is any prop that is used to help a child fall asleep. Some examples of props are: swings, rocking, parents, having the tv on to fall asleep, the list goes on and on. Sleep associations become problematic when the child is waking in the middle of the night for no reason other than the sleep environment has changed.

For example a child who is being rocked to sleep has a mini arousal and is no longer being rocked, so the child cries out. When we are sleeping, adults and children, we have mini arousals. The arousal is so brief that you usually do not wake up, however you do when something is off in your home .You hear a leaky faucet or the toilet running which causes you to fully wake. The same is for children. If a child is being rocked to sleep and falls asleep while being rocked and then has a mini arousal and is no longer being rocked, the child will wake and cry out.  In order to ensure a child stays asleep throughout the night, it is essential that the sleep environment does not change. The room should be the same when the child falls asleep the whole night through, consequently when the child has a mini arousal the child will not wake. Providing the child with more consolidated sleep. The elimination of sleep associations helps the parents to sleep better as well, they no longer have to attend to a child that is having frequent night wakes.