New Gaia Baby Research on Benefits of Co-Sleeping

They say having children leads to sleepless nights and that’s true for almost half of new parents, according to a new survey** of 220 parents in Ireland. Our research reveals that 45% of those with young children are getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night.

However, for the 56% of parents who regularly ‘co-sleep’ with their baby, 2 in 3 (67%) say it led to at least the same, if not a better nights’ sleep for them compared to when they sleep without the baby beside them. For 63% of co-sleeping respondents, the baby also woke less during the night and 37% say it made the bedtime routine a more positive experience.

The research which examines the trend of co-sleeping, the practice of having babies and young children sleep next to parents, was carried out to launch our new range of innovative nursery furniture. Founded by Joanne O’Grady of Irish distribution company Clever Clogs and her business partner, Karl Millergill, the pair have come together to launch the Gaia Serena Collection, a suite of timeless furniture, crafted to serve multiple functions while carrying new parents through the family journey.

With the benefits of co-sleeping in mind, Gaia Baby has introduced a global first with the Serena Collection’s Complete Sleep+/ Co-Sleep (RRP €799.90). The Complete Sleep+/Co-Sleep incorporates the first fully certified co-sleeping crib that can be converted into a full-size cot. The Gaia Serena Co-Sleeping Crib can be used from birth and its patent pending design features multi height adjustment, bespoke new-born mattress, handy storage shelf and a soft gauze front panel which means the baby is visible all the time. Once your baby is ready to transition to a cot, simply convert your Serena Co-Sleeping crib into the Serena Maxi Cot. No waste, no bulky storage, just one single purchase to take you through every sleeping stage up to five years.

It takes a dream team to sleep well.

The findings:

• 45% of new parents in Ireland are failing to get the recommended 7-8 hours* of sleep a night
• The majority of Irish parents keep the baby in their room for at least the first 6 months (42%) while 1 in 3 (34%) keep the baby in their room up to 1yr
• 1 in 3 (36%) cited space restrictions at home as a reason for having baby sleep in their room
• Over half (56%) have “co-slept” with their child, yet 68% say that there is not enough information available to new parents about co-sleeping
• 2 in 3 (67%) co-sleeping parents say it leads to the same or better sleep for them
• Almost 2 in 3 (63%) co-sleeping parents said their baby woke up less during the night
• 1 in 5 parents (21%) have a ‘sleeping schedule’ in place with their partner