Sleep training is one of the few baby decisions where the research is fairly settled and the arguments are not. The short version of the evidence: behavioral sleep methods help many babies sleep longer, and the best long-term study found no lasting harm, and no lasting benefit, five years later. A smaller study raised a concern about stress hormones that critics still cite. Whether to try it is a family decision. Whether to hire a sleep consultant to help is a separate one, and in Utah it comes with a fact most parents don't know: sleep consulting is not a licensed profession here.
This page is general information, not medical advice. Talk with your pediatrician before starting any sleep plan, and sooner if your baby was premature, is not gaining weight, snores, or has pauses in breathing.
The rules no sleep plan overrides
Before methods, the non-negotiables. The American Academy of Pediatrics' safe-sleep guidance:
- Back to sleep for every nap and every night.
- A flat, firm sleep surface with no soft objects, pillows, bumpers or loose bedding, which the AAP says raise the risk of entrapment, suffocation and strangulation.
- Room-sharing without bed-sharing for at least the first six months; the AAP says room-sharing can lower SIDS risk by as much as 50 percent.
- A wearable blanket instead of a loose one, and no more than one layer more than an adult would wear.
- No weighted products. The AAP advises against weighted blankets, sleepers and swaddles.
Any consultant, book or app that conflicts with these is wrong on that point, however well the rest of the plan works.
What the AAP says about teaching a baby to settle
The AAP's parent site does not prescribe a sleep-training method. Its guidance on getting babies to sleep says:
- Babies do not have regular sleep cycles until about 4 months.
- For babies 4 months and older: put them to bed drowsy, "do not wait until babies are asleep."
- "Do not rush in to soothe a crying baby"; babies "need time to put themselves back to sleep."
- It is normal for a 6-month-old to wake at night and resettle after a few minutes.
- Keep night feedings and changes calm and dim, and of course attend to a baby who needs a feeding, a diaper or comfort when sick.
That is not a method, but it is the foundation most methods build on.
The methods, in plain terms
Researchers use these names:
- Extinction ("cry it out"). Put the baby down awake at bedtime and do not return until morning, except for illness or safety.
- Graduated extinction (often called Ferber). Put the baby down awake and check in at set intervals that get longer, briefly and without picking up.
- Bedtime fading. Temporarily move bedtime later, to when the baby falls asleep quickly, then move it earlier in small steps.
- Parental presence or "camping out." A parent sits by the crib and gradually moves farther away over many nights.
- Parent education before problems start. Teaching routines and settling habits from early on.
What the research shows
The review. In 2006 a task force of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reviewed 52 treatment studies on bedtime problems and night waking in young children (Mindell and colleagues, Sleep). It found that 94 percent of studies reported behavioral interventions worked, with over 80 percent of children showing clinically significant improvement that held for three to six months. The strongest support was for unmodified extinction and preventive parent education, with support also for graduated extinction, bedtime fading and positive routines. The authors called for more research on longer-term effects.
The five-year follow-up. Price and colleagues (Pediatrics, 2012) followed an Australian randomized trial in which nurses taught behavioral sleep techniques at 8 to 10 months to families reporting sleep problems. At age 6, with 225 families (69 percent) still taking part, there was no difference between groups on children's emotional and behavioral scores, sleep, stress (measured by cortisol), child-parent closeness or conflict, attachment, or mothers' depression, anxiety and stress. The authors concluded the techniques "have no marked long-lasting effects (positive or negative)" and that parents can use them to reduce short- to medium-term sleep problems and maternal depression.
The small trial with cortisol. Gradisar and colleagues (Pediatrics, 2016) randomized 43 babies aged 6 to 16 months to graduated extinction, bedtime fading or sleep education. Both methods shortened the time to fall asleep, and graduated extinction cut night waking. Infant cortisol showed small-to-moderate declines in the two method groups, and at 12 months there were no differences in emotional or behavioral problems or in attachment.
The study critics cite. Middlemiss and colleagues (Early Human Development, 2012) measured cortisol in 25 infants, aged 4 to 10 months, during a five-day inpatient program using extinction. On the third day the babies no longer showed distress at bedtime, but their cortisol was still elevated, while their mothers' cortisol had dropped. The authors described this as a loss of synchrony between mother and baby. The study was small, had no comparison group, and reports no follow-up after the program, which is why it cannot show long-term harm; it is also why people who are wary of extinction keep pointing to it.
What that adds up to. The evidence supports behavioral methods as effective and, in the best follow-up we have, not harmful years later. It does not show that sleep training is necessary, or that families who do not do it are worse off. The trials enrolled mostly babies 6 months and older, two of the three cited here were Australian, and they mostly studied families who already reported a sleep problem. Plenty of families decide that night waking is manageable and wait it out. Both choices sit inside what the research supports.
Sleep consultants in Utah: what they are
A baby sleep consultant is a coach who designs a sleep plan for your child and supports you through it, usually through an intake questionnaire, a video call and a period of text or phone follow-up.
They are not licensed. Utah's Division of Professional Licensing publishes its list of licensed professions. It includes physicians, nurses, physician assistants, psychologists, certified nurse midwives, direct-entry midwives, dietitians, social workers and therapists, among many others. Infant sleep consulting is not on it. Sleep-consultant certifications come from private training companies that set their own standards. That does not make a consultant bad at the work; it means the state does not check training, handle complaints or set a scope of practice for the job.
Some consultants also hold a real license. A registered nurse, physician or licensed therapist who consults on sleep holds that license separately, and you can confirm it on the state's online licensee lookup. A certificate from a sleep-coaching program is not the same thing.
They cannot diagnose. Snoring, pauses in breathing, reflux, poor weight gain and feeding problems are medical questions. A responsible consultant will tell you to see your pediatrician first.
Consultants in Utah County
Google's business listings in October 2026 included two consultants with Utah County addresses: Little Dreamers baby sleep consulting (520 E 770 N, Orem) and Sleeping Child, Sane Parent (637 W 150 N, Springville). Others work only online and serve Utah families remotely. We list these only to show the kind of business you will find, not as a recommendation: we have not reviewed their training, methods or results, and the state does not either.
How to vet one, or decide to skip it
Ask before you pay:
- What is your training, and who issued it? Is any of it a state license?
- What methods do you use, and do you offer gentler options if we do not want extinction?
- What ages do you work with? Be cautious with plans for babies under about 4 months.
- Do you require a pediatrician's okay before starting, especially for preterm babies or feeding concerns?
- How do you handle night feedings? A plan that drops them should be one your pediatrician agrees with.
- What do you recommend for the sleep space? Listen for back sleeping, a flat surface, no loose bedding and no weighted products.
- What exactly do I get, for how many days, and what happens if it is not working?
Free and low-cost alternatives exist. Your pediatrician can talk through a plan at a well-child visit; our pediatrician guide covers the visit schedule. Our storytime guide is also a good excuse to meet other parents who are in the same weeks and compare notes.
When it isn't really about sleep
Severe exhaustion can feed postpartum depression and anxiety, and those can make every night feel worse. If you are struggling to function, feel hopeless, or are having frightening thoughts, the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline answers calls and texts 24 hours a day, free, in English and Spanish, at 1-833-852-6262 (1-833-TLC-MAMA). Our postpartum mental health guide lists local support groups and the state's referral network.
Practical help counts too. A night or two of covered feedings or a few hours of daytime sleep can change the math. Our nannies, au pairs and babysitting co-op guide covers options, the new dad's guide covers splitting nights, and the twins and multiples guide covers the special case of two babies on two schedules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sleep training harmful to babies?
What does the American Academy of Pediatrics say about sleep training?
Do sleep consultants need a license in Utah?
At what age can you sleep train a baby?
What are the main sleep training methods?
How much does a baby sleep consultant cost in Utah County?
Can a sleep consultant tell me to use a weighted sleep sack or a positioner?
Is it normal for a 6-month-old to wake at night?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Licenses (DOPL license categories), Utah Department of Commerce, Division of Professional Licensing. Checked October 20, 2026.
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Checked October 20, 2026.
- A Parent's Guide to Safe Sleep, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org). Checked October 20, 2026.
- Getting Your Baby to Sleep, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org). Checked October 20, 2026.
- Behavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children (Mindell et al., Sleep 2006; PMID 17068979), PubMed. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Five-year follow-up of harms and benefits of behavioral infant sleep intervention (Price et al., Pediatrics 2012), PubMed / Pediatrics. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Behavioral Interventions for Infant Sleep Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Gradisar et al., Pediatrics 2016), PubMed / Pediatrics. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Asynchrony of mother-infant HPA axis activity following extinction of infant crying (Middlemiss et al., Early Human Development 2012), PubMed / Early Human Development. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Google Places listings for infant sleep consultants in Orem and Springville, Google Places. Checked October 20, 2026.
