Daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 9th. This was a bummer before I had kids, as it meant losing an hour of sleep. I would feel pretty cruddy for about a week afterwards. Then, my kids were early risers, so I liked it. Why? The beginning of DST shifts their apparent wake time a bit earlier. So a kid who was waking up at 5:30 AM was getting up at 6:30 AM literally overnight. (A "later" bedtime was the cost of this but I'm not a morning lark, so it was a fair trade-off). However, it...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Arielle and I are back with our first Sleep Edit podcast episode of 2025, diving into the thorny topics of melatonin and magnesium for kids’ sleep. 🎧 Listen here Lately, it feels like sleep gummies, supplements, lotions, and other quick fixes are everywhere, marketed to exhausted parents looking for answers. In the U.S., even melatonin—a hormone—is regulated as a dietary supplement, not a medication. The truth? Melatonin has good evidence for kids with certain conditions (like autism and...
2 months ago • 1 min read
A few years ago, almost every parent in my Sleep Clinic had already tried melatonin for their child’s sleep struggles. Now, there’s a new kid on the block—magnesium supplements. I get it. Magnesium sounds great—it’s a mineral, not a hormone, and it’s easy to find in gummies, powders, and drinks. But does it actually help kids sleep?I dug into the science, and (spoiler alert) the answer isn’t as clear-cut as you might think. Here’s what I found: ✔️ Magnesium plays a big role in sleep and...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Honestly, I can't remember what holidays were like before I was a dad. I vaguely remember them being less stressful, but maybe less meaningful as well. It's really fun experiencing the magic of the holidays through your children's eyes. HOWEVER, if you have a little one, all of the travel, family time, and holiday excitement, can be stressful. REALLY stressful. And, if your kid's sleep is disrupted, it can result in tantrums, chaos, and conflict. In the latest episode of The Sleep Edit...
4 months ago • 1 min read
When parents think sleep training, the often think about extinction or CIO sleep training. Although CIO sleep training works well for infants and younger toddlers, I prefer gentler methods for older toddlers and preschoolers, especially if they are anxious. The “Excuse Me Drill” and “Taking a break” are two simple, gentle techniques which work well for children two and up who need their parents to fall asleep. These are two of my favorite techniques, and in my book It’s Never Too Late To...
9 months ago • 1 min read
When parents think of sleep training, they are often just imagining extinction sleep training (commonly known as "cry it out" or CIO). Thus, they imagine lots of crying, tantrums, and battles when trying to change the status quo. The fact is, CIO doesn't work well for older kids anyway. That's why I love the Bedtime Pass. A simple yet effective tool for managing nighttime interruptions. Instead of battling wills, your child can use a "Bedtime Pass" for a trip out of their room or to call for...
9 months ago • 1 min read
It just got hot here in the Northeast, and the kids are at camp (one is a counselor, the other is a counselor in training) at our local day camp. There are a lot of things I like about camp for kids in the summer, especially if there is a bit outdoor component. The kids come home tired but happy. They have a lot of great stories of funny things that happen throughout the day (ESPECIALLY from my boy who is a counselor) They sleep terrifically well. Now, some kids have a less busy schedule...
10 months ago • 1 min read
Here's a question I get asked all the time: "My child is having a sleep regression! What do I do?" I'm ambivalent about the term "sleep regression" as it implies that regressions (worsening of sleep in a child who had previously been sleeping well) are a predictable phenomenon at certain ages. Although there are a few milestones that consistently seem to muck up sleep (I'm looking at you, Walking and Potty Training), overall I don't believe in the 10 month sleep regression. Or the 2.57 years...
11 months ago • 1 min read
So my brother just had his first child a few weeks ago, so Arielle and I wanted to cover newborn sleep in the latest episode of The Sleep Edit. This is a challenging topic-- as newborns are pretty disorganized in terms of feeding and sleeping in the first few weeks. Fortunately, sleep tends to improve fairly quickly. In this episode we cover: The natural evolution of sleep in the first three months of life The period of PURPLE crying Safe sleep How modern sleep technology can help or hurt...
12 months ago • 1 min read