Back by Popular Demand: The neuroscience of sleep training, bed sharing, and baby sleep with Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum

Back by Popular Demand: The neuroscience of sleep training, bed sharing, and baby sleep with Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum

July 21, 2026 · 1h 8m · Episode 430

About this episode

Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum discusses the neuroscience behind infant sleep and parenting choices related to sleep.

As part of our 5-Year Anniversary Summer Series, we're bringing back one of the most downloaded and talked-about episodes in Securely Attached history. Few parenting topics generate as much confusion, anxiety, and conflicting advice as sleep. In this conversation, neuroscientist, doula, and author of The Nurture Revolution , Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum, joins me to explore what the science actually tells us about infant sleep, sleep training, bed sharing, contact sleep, and the role responsiveness plays in early brain development. Together we discuss: Whether night waking is a normal and developmentally expected part of infant sleep. What neuroscience tells us about how babies learn to feel safe during sleep. What sleep training does and does not change about infant sleep. The different approaches to sleep training and how they compare. The science behind contact sleep, room sharing, and bed sharing. How societal expectations around sleep can contribute to parental anxiety and guilt. Ways to support your baby's sleep while honoring both your child's needs and your own. How to think about sleep decisions without shame, fear, or pressure. Why it is never too late to strengthen connection…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Sarah Bren

Guest: Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Nurture Revolution

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