4 d. ago Expert shares 5 simple steps to banish insomnia and sleep like a baby

If you're struggling to drift off or waking too early – start these five simple healthy night-time habits to get a better quality of sleep and improve your overall health

Politics

6 d. ago New mums are being ‘strongly encouraged’ to take regular exercise and get more sleep. Don’t make me laugh | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

New guidelines are well intentioned, but as parents of babies know, finding time to look after yourself is impossibleOne of the many things you don’t realise until you have a newborn is just how much people congratulate you simply for leaving the house. “Well done for getting out and about,” they say, with the cheerful camaraderie of People Who Know. Going outside may sound like a low benchmark, but during those early weeks summoning the energy to put on clothes, pack a bag, and then using that narrow window between sleeping, feeding, pooing and screaming to cross the threshold into the world can feel like the grand sum total of all human endeavour. Screw the frescoes of the Scrovegni chapel: Mama made it to Budgens.Which explains my reaction when I read that new guidelines published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine say that new mothers should be strongly encouraged to do at least two hours of moderate to vigorous exercise a week, in addition to “daily pelvic floor muscle t...

Politics

1 week ago Experts warns against common mistakes to give your baby the safest sleep

From keeping your infant in your bedroom for the first six months to ensuring cots contain just two key items, The Lullaby Trust trust has these top tips for safe sleeping

Events

2 w. ago Baby sleep expert urges parents to pack twice as much of one simple thing ahead of family holiday

Every family deserves a relaxed holiday experience but in the early days of parenting life, it can be difficult to pin down the perfect travelling and holidaying sleep routine - until now

Society

2 w. ago The tussle between two firms says a lot about the difficulty of getting your baby to sleep safely | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Wildly differing views about cosleeping and products like baby pods abound online. I admire those who offer clear, sensible supportThe first night we brought my son home from the hospital to our empty flat, we sat up far longer than needed, unmoored by a new, overwhelming responsibility to keep him alive. That some babies stop breathing in their sleep, and scientists still don’t really know why, terrified me when I’d just been primally rewired towards his survival. All you can do, you are told, is try to minimise risk.And so you commit the guidelines to memory: “For the first 12 months (adjusted for prematurity), the baby should be placed on its back in their own clear, flat, firm separate sleep space (eg a cot or moses basket) in the same room as you. They should not get too hot, and it should be a smoke-free environment.”Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist and author. She is the author of a novel, The Tyranny of Lost Things, and a memoir, The Year of the Cat Continue re...

Politics

3 w. ago Mom let her baby suffocate after her boyfriend ‘made him sleep face down to stop him crying’

Ashlen Zitel, from Beatrice, Nebraska, came home to find her three month-old baby not breathing - she was arrested with her boyfriend Austin Meyn

Politics