How Babies Sleep

A Factful Guide to the First 365 Days and Nights

Format:

Buy the book from:

Amazon Blackwells Bookshop.org Foyles Hive Waterstones WHSmith

‘As compassionate as it is clinically rigorous . . . a myth-busting, parent-respecting, evidence-soaked call to rethink everything we think we know about infant sleep.’
Guddi Singh, British Medical Journal

‘Clearly written and engaging, with really useful suggestions that will help manage parents’ expectations and anxiety, How Babies Sleep is a must-read for anybody who wants to understand the first 365 days of a human life.’
Russell Foster, neuroscientist and Sunday Times-bestselling author of Life Time

---

How babies sleep is both exceedingly simple and excruciatingly complex. It is simple because it is based on a few straightforward biological principles that affect all babies the world over. It is complex because we have made it so.

Over the past century and a half, we have tried to manipulate baby sleep to fit with the rapidly changing nature of adult lives. The mismatch we have created with our babies’ biology is framed as ‘baby sleep problems’, and infants are often ‘treated’ using behavioural and clinical interventions. But it is not baby sleep that needs fixing – only our understanding of it.

In How Babies Sleep, pioneering and award-winning infant sleep researcher Professor Helen Ball brings together cutting-edge science, anthropological insight and practical advice to provide parents with everything they need to help them confidently – and sanely – navigate the first 365 night-times with a new baby. It will teach you how to harmonise your needs with those of your infant, and empower you to reject approaches that make you uncomfortable and experiment with strategies that work for you and your family.

----

‘Finally — the baby sleep book all new parents actually need.’ Amanda Ruggeri, award-winning science and parenting journalist

‘An accessible, intelligent account of the issues around baby sleep.’ Sue Gerhardt, psychotherapist and author of Why Love Matters

'The most important voice we have to bring clarity.’ Greer Kirshenbaum, neuroscientist, doula, and author of The Nurture Revolution

‘A must-read . . . Compelling, reassuring, and empowering, it will change everything.’ Tiffany Belanger, author of Cosleepy

Brings together evolutionary biology, cross-cultural research and feminist critique in a guide that is as compassionate as it is clinically rigorous. The result is a quiet revolution: a myth-busting, parent-respecting, evidence-soaked call to rethink everything we think we know about infant sleep . . . This book should be required reading for every GP, health visitor and paediatrician . . . For clinicians, Ball’s book offers both a wake-up call and a toolkit. For parents, it is permission to stop blaming themselves — and start asking harder questions about the world we have built around babies. The most revolutionary thing in this book is not the science — it is the solidarity. And perhaps, that is the real ‘sleep solution’ we have been searching for all along.
Guddi Singh, British Medical Journal

How Babies Sleep fills me with hope for all the parents and babies who will be nurtured through the night by Helen Ball’s words. Cutting through the overwhelming world of baby sleep advice with science, insight, and compassion, this book offers parents the confidence to trust their instincts and rest easy, knowing their nighttime parenting is exactly what their baby needs. It’s a gift and a lifeline for families everywhere.
Tracy Gillett, Founder of Raised Good

Based on first-hand experience and decades of research, Helen has managed to write the book on infant sleep that will serve as both a guide and comfort blanket to weary new parents who are inundated by mixed messages about their baby’s sleep. Her empathy, wisdom, and ability to take something as complex as infant sleep and make it digestible is not only no small feat, but is exactly what today’s parents need and deserve to help them make the best sleep choices for their families.
Tracy Cassels, PhD, Founder of Evolutionary Parenting

About Helen L. Ball

Details

Imprint: Cornerstone Press
Published: 29/05/2025
ISBN: 9781529918939
Length: 336 pages
Dimensions: 241mm x 30mm x 165mm
Weight: 539g
Price: £18.99

All editions

How Babies Sleep

A Factful Guide to the First 365 Days and Nights

Format:

Buy the book from:

In a world where infant sleep is grossly misunderstood by parents and professionals, Professor Helen Ball is the most important voice we have to bring clarity. We must support infants to have safe and healthy sleep, because their brain development and lifelong health depends on it.

In the confusing and contentious world of baby sleep, Professor Helen Ball offers evidence-based reason and sensibility. Thank goodness this book exists – it will be the reassuring companion all new parents rely on.

A must-read for new parents looking for data to back up what their intuition has been telling them about their baby. Compelling, reassuring, and empowering, it will change everything.

A fascinating review of the science of infant sleep. This book will show you how to let go of your fears and get connected as a family.

In a clear explanation of the science, Helen Ball has provided information and reassurance so families can understand their children’s individual sleep patterns and requirements. This book will help parents truly relax and enjoy their babies while getting the rest they need.

About Helen L. Ball

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter