ABSTRACT
An infant’s quiet night of sleep is a source of happiness and empowerment for parents. Children with different types of attachment disorder may have disturbed sleep patterns or even sleep disorders. Infants or children with hyperactivation of their attachment systems normally cannot separate until they fall asleep in close physical contact with their parents in the children’s or the parents’ bed. The presence of parents when an infant separates for sleep and sleeps during the night may support him or her in developing a secure attachment representation. Sleep problems in babies can be subtle indicators of difficulties in parent–infant relationships. Sleep problems of infants and even older children can be strongly related to attachment problems. Children who can reestablish close physical contact with their parents at bedtime or even sleep together in the same room may form more secure relationships than those who are separated from their parents at night.
