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#2 in popularitySince 1987Full extinction (cry-it-out) allowed; gradual options described

Weissbluth Method

Marc Weissbluth, MD, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Short wake windows and very early bedtimes to prevent overtiredness, with cry-it-out if needed.

Find the book
Starts
4 moProgram from birth
Results in
3–4 nights
Crying
Cry it out
Evidence
Moderate–strong

Overview

Pediatrician Marc Weissbluth's Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child argues that many sleep problems come from overtiredness. Parents watch for drowsy signs, keep wake periods short, protect regular naps, and move bedtime early, sometimes as early as 5:30 p.m. The early-bedtime advice draws on his own research on sleep timing.

When it's time to teach independent sleep, Weissbluth endorses full extinction: put baby down awake and don't return until morning, apart from planned feeds. He also describes gentler variations. Extinction usually works within a few nights, but it's the hardest approach for many parents to follow through on.

How it works

  • Start in the first days. Weissbluth says to begin when you bring your baby home. In the first weeks, soothe your baby however works and let them sleep when they need to.
  • Keep wake periods short. Most newborns can't handle more than 1 to 2 hours awake. Aim to have your baby back down for sleep within that window.
  • Watch for drowsy signs. Put your baby down at the first signs of tiredness, such as going quiet, staring or losing interest, before they get overtired and catch a second wind.
  • Put baby down drowsy but awake. This gives your baby practice falling asleep in the crib rather than in your arms.
  • Share bedtime duty. Have different caregivers put your baby down so they don't come to need one person to fall asleep.
  • Move bedtime earlier. From about 6 weeks, night sleep becomes more organized. Shift bedtime earlier, as early as 5:30 p.m. if your baby is overtired.
  • Build regular naps. By about 3 to 4 months, aim for a morning nap around 9 a.m., a midday nap between noon and 2 p.m., and a short late-afternoon nap. The third nap usually drops by 9 months.
  • Teach independent sleep. From about 4 months, after a short, calm bedtime routine, put your baby down awake, say good night and leave. With full extinction, you don't go back in until morning except for planned feeds. Weissbluth also describes gentler options, such as brief checks or gradually doing less to soothe.
  • Use the same approach for naps. Put your baby down at drowsy signs and let them settle. If they haven't slept after about an hour, the nap is over until the next one.
  • Stay consistent. Crying usually drops off sharply within 3 or 4 nights. Responding some nights and not others tends to make crying last longer.
  • Catch up with an early bedtime. After illness, travel or a day of short naps, move bedtime earlier for a few nights to make up the lost sleep.

Pros

  • Strong focus on preventing overtiredness
  • Early-bedtime insight is research-based
  • Extinction is fast

Cons

  • Extinction is the hardest method for many parents
  • Book is long and repetitive
  • Very early bedtimes clash with work schedules

Evidence

Moderate–strong. Extinction is well supported; Weissbluth's own research on bedtime timing.

Details

Popularity
#2 of 39 · Very high (estimated)
Since
1987 (39 years)
When to start
Soothing and sleep timing from birth; earlier bedtimes from around 6 weeks; extinction ~4 months+
Day structure
Sleep-timing biology
Format
Book
Good fit for
Parents comfortable with crying who want to fix overtiredness and naps as well as nights.

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