--- title: "Sleep Training Methods Compared, Without the Judgment | Dalo Baby" description: "Ferber, the chair method, bedtime fading and pick up put down mapped to the categories researchers actually test — with what the trials found on efficacy, harm and how to choose." canonical: https://dalofamilyapps.com/learn/sleep/sleep-training-methods-compared --- [Home](/)/[Knowledge Hub](/learn)/[Sleep](/learn/sleep) # Sleep training methods compared, without the judgment [Dalo Baby Editorial](/learn/editorial-policy)Published September 4, 2026Last reviewed September 4, 20264 min read Ferber is graduated extinction, the chair method is camping out, and pick up put down has no research name. An AASM review of 52 studies found 94% reported efficacy. Trials measuring cortisol and attachment found no harm, and separation anxiety determines which method suits a given baby. ![Sleep training methods compared, without the judgment](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F87uht7oc%2Fproduction%2F4040cb604782bc0058db4d4e95796f4d22ff5adc-1376x768.jpg%3Frect%3D176%2C0%2C1024%2C768%26w%3D800%26h%3D600%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75) ## Key takeaways - Branded methods and research categories are different lists: Ferber is graduated extinction, the chair method is camping out, pick up put down has no research name at all. - An AASM review of 52 studies found 94% reported efficacy, with over 80% of children improving and holding it for 3–6 months. - A trial measuring salivary cortisol found infant stress declined, with no attachment or behaviour differences at 12 months; a five-year follow-up found no differences either way. - Choose on fit: separation anxiety moderated which method worked better, favouring camping-out for highly anxious infants. - Doing nothing is a real row in the table — in one trial the control group had caught up by four months. In this article 1. [The naming problem](#the-naming-problem) 2. [Does any of it work?](#does-any-of-it-work) 3. [Does any of it harm?](#does-any-of-it-harm) 4. [So how do you actually choose?](#so-how-do-you-actually-choose) 5. [Which method solves which problem](#which-method-solves-which-problem) 6. [What none of them fix](#what-none-of-them-fix) 7. [The four methods, in detail](#the-four-methods-in-detail) 8. [The bottom line](#the-bottom-line) Every comparison of sleep training methods you will read is really an argument about tone — which one is kind, which one is harsh, which camp the writer belongs to. This one is about evidence, and the first thing the evidence says is that the question is usually asked wrong. ## The naming problem Parents choose between branded methods: Ferber, the chair method, pick up put down, the sleep lady's shuffle. Researchers test behavioural categories: unmodified extinction, graduated extinction, bedtime fading and positive routines, scheduled awakenings, preventive parent education.[\[1\]](#ref-mind) The two lists do not line up, and almost every unhelpful argument about sleep training comes from treating them as if they did. Method Research name Evidence behind it Ferber / controlled crying Graduated extinction Multiple RCTs; a supported category Chair method / gradual retreat Camping out One head-to-head RCT of 91 infants Bedtime fading Bedtime fading RCT arm; a supported category Cry it out Unmodified extinction Strongest support in the AASM review Pick up, put down — no research name — No trials; absent from the supported list Doing nothing yet Watchful waiting Many problems resolve; controls caught up by 4 months in one trial What each brand is, in the language the research uses That last row is not a joke, and it is the row most comparisons leave out. In a randomised trial of 156 infants with severe parent-reported sleep problems, the intervention group did better at two months — 53 of 76 problems resolved versus 36 of 76 — but by four months the changes in sleep problems and depression scores were similar between groups.[\[6\]](#ref-hw) The control families got there too, more slowly. ## Does any of it work? Yes, and reliably. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's task force reviewed 52 treatment studies: 94% reported that behavioural interventions were efficacious, with over 80% of treated children showing clinically significant improvement maintained for three to six months.[\[1\]](#ref-mind) Those findings became formal practice parameters.[\[2\]](#ref-pp) 94% of 52 reviewed studies found behavioural sleep interventions efficacious; over 80% of children improved and held it for 3–6 months (AASM, 2006)[\[1\]](#ref-mind) ## Does any of it harm? This is the question the whole argument actually turns on, and it has been studied better than the tone of the debate suggests. A randomised trial of 43 infants measured infant stress directly with salivary cortisol rather than by asking parents. Cortisol showed small-to-moderate declines in both the graduated extinction and bedtime fading groups compared with controls. At twelve months there were no differences in emotional or behavioural problems, and no differences in attachment measured with the strange situation.[\[3\]](#ref-grad) A separate trial followed 326 children to age six. It found no evidence of differences between intervention and control families on any outcome measured — child mental health, sleep, psychosocial functioning, chronic stress, child-parent closeness and conflict, attachment, or parental depression and anxiety.[\[5\]](#ref-price) The five-year result cuts both ways No lasting harm, which answers the fear. No lasting benefit either, which should temper the sales pitch. Anyone telling you sleep training will change your child's development, in either direction, is going past what the evidence supports. What it buys is short- to medium-term relief for the household — and that is a legitimate thing to want without needing a developmental justification. ## So how do you actually choose? On fit, not on virtue. The most useful trial for this question randomised 91 infants aged 9 to 18 months to checking-in — graduated extinction, with gradual separation — or camping-out, where parental presence is maintained. Both improved sleep and both held at six-month follow-up. Separation anxiety did not change under either. But separation anxiety **moderated** which one worked better: infants with high separation anxiety benefited more from camping-out.[\[4\]](#ref-kahn) The authors' recommendation is that clinicians should assess separation anxiety and favour gentler approaches such as camping-out for highly anxious infants.[\[4\]](#ref-kahn) That is a genuinely useful decision rule, and it is about your baby rather than about your parenting philosophy. ## Which method solves which problem If the problem is… Start with Because Bedtime takes an hour Bedtime fading Large drop in time-to-sleep; almost no crying Frequent night wakings Graduated extinction Its clearest advantage in the trial data High separation anxiety The chair method Trial evidence favours it for these infants Crying is a dealbreaker Bedtime fading, then the chair Both supported; least crying of the options Nothing has been tried Fix the schedule first An overtired baby resists every method equally A method was abandoned midway A slower one you will finish An abandoned method teaches nothing Matching the method to the actual complaint ## What none of them fix - A bedtime in the wrong place. Sort the day first — [wake window stacking](/learn/sleep/wake-window-stacking) is the usual culprit. - Hunger, illness, teething, reflux or a house move. None of these are behavioural, and no method will out-argue them. - Normal night waking. Waking between sleep cycles is not a disorder, and the age-appropriate expectation matters more than the method. - A disagreement between two adults. Inconsistency is the single largest cause of failure across every method here. - Your own exhaustion, which is a real clinical consideration and not a side issue — the trials that measured maternal mood found it improved alongside infant sleep. ## The four methods, in detail Each has its own page with the schedule, the failure modes and the evidence specific to it: [the Ferber method](/learn/sleep/ferber-method) for graduated extinction, [the chair method](/learn/sleep/chair-method) for camping out, [bedtime fading](/learn/sleep/bedtime-fading) for the low-crying option, and [pick up, put down](/learn/sleep/pick-up-put-down) — which is on this site with its evidence gap clearly labelled rather than left off because it lacks trials. ![](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fnap-plan-icon.webp&w=256&q=75&dpl=dpl_HDQuuA58EiAncPne4fumhEvNhdFC) Dalo Sleep Judge the method on data, not on last night Dalo Sleep logs settling time, night wakings and total sleep, so you can tell whether a method is working after a week rather than deciding at 4am on the strength of one bad night. [Dalo Sleep](/apps/dalo-sleep) ## The bottom line Behavioural sleep interventions work for most families in the short to medium term, do not appear to raise infant stress, and leave no measurable trace at five years in either direction. Several distinct methods are supported, and the trial evidence says the right one depends on your baby — particularly on separation anxiety — rather than on which philosophy you subscribe to.[\[2\]](#ref-pp) It is also entirely reasonable not to do any of this. Sleep problems in infancy frequently resolve without intervention, the control groups in these trials got there too, and no method is required for a child to sleep eventually. Judge the whole thing against the 24-hour total your baby is getting rather than against anyone else's schedule.[\[7\]](#ref-sl1) In this article 1. [The naming problem](#the-naming-problem) 2. [Does any of it work?](#does-any-of-it-work) 3. [Does any of it harm?](#does-any-of-it-harm) 4. [So how do you actually choose?](#so-how-do-you-actually-choose) 5. [Which method solves which problem](#which-method-solves-which-problem) 6. [What none of them fix](#what-none-of-them-fix) 7. [The four methods, in detail](#the-four-methods-in-detail) 8. [The bottom line](#the-bottom-line) ## References & disclaimer We link every source we used. Where guidance differs by country, we cite the authority that applies where you are. 1. 1. [Behavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17068979/) Sleep (American Academy of Sleep Medicine) · 2006 · Review 2. 2. [Practice parameters for behavioral treatment of bedtime problems and night wakings in infants and young children](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17068980/) Sleep (American Academy of Sleep Medicine) · 2006 · Guideline 3. 3. [Behavioral Interventions for Infant Sleep Problems: A Randomized Controlled Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27221288/) Pediatrics (AAP) · 2016 · Study 4. 4. [Behavioral interventions for pediatric insomnia: one treatment may not fit all](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31676910/) Sleep (Sleep Research Society) · 2020 · Study 5. 5. [Five-year follow-up of harms and benefits of behavioral infant sleep intervention: randomized trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22966034/) Pediatrics (AAP) · 2012 · Study 6. 6. [Randomised controlled trial of behavioural infant sleep intervention to improve infant sleep and maternal mood](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11991909/) BMJ · 2002 · Study 7. 7. [Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement](https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/full/10.5664/jcsm.5866) Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (AASM) · 2016 · Guideline 8. 8. [Baby sleep patterns](https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/baby-safety/being-a-parent-or-caregiver/baby-sleep-patterns/) The Lullaby Trust · Organisation * * * Before you act on this Sleep training is a choice, not a requirement. This guide describes how a method works and what the evidence does and does not show. No method suits every family, and choosing not to use one is an equally valid decision. If your baby's sleep is worrying you, speak to your health visitor or paediatrician. ## Questions, answered Which sleep training method is best? There is no single best one — several are supported by evidence, and the trial data suggests the right choice depends on your baby. Separation anxiety in particular moderated which method worked better, with highly anxious infants doing better on approaches that keep a parent in the room. Is sleep training harmful in the long run? The best available evidence says no. A five-year follow-up of 326 children found no differences between intervention and control families on any outcome measured, including attachment, chronic stress and behaviour. The same study found no lasting benefit either, so the claim works in both directions. Do I have to sleep train at all? No. Many infant sleep problems resolve without intervention: in one randomised trial the intervention group was ahead at two months, but by four months the control families had largely caught up. Sleep training buys faster relief, not an outcome your child cannot reach otherwise. What if a method does not work for us? Check the daytime schedule before changing method — an overtired or undertired baby resists every approach equally, and a bedtime in the wrong place cannot be fixed at night. If the schedule is right and two weeks of consistency has changed nothing, switching to a different supported method is reasonable and costs your child nothing. ![Dalo Sleep](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fnap-plan-icon.webp&w=128&q=75&dpl=dpl_HDQuuA58EiAncPne4fumhEvNhdFC) Get it on your phone Dalo Sleep [Dalo Sleep](/apps/dalo-sleep) Part of [Baby sleep schedules and wake windows: 0–24 months](/learn/sleep/baby-sleep-schedules-and-wake-windows) ## Keep reading [ ![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F87uht7oc%2Fproduction%2Fb1ca8afb24ddd4867a003f21634e57f3713cfc54-1376x768.jpg%3Frect%3D7%2C0%2C1363%2C768%26w%3D440%26h%3D248%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75) ### The Ferber method: intervals, timeline and what the evidence shows In the research it is called graduated extinction, and that is where the evidence lives. The interval schedule, what happens night by night, and what trials found about stress and attachment. ](/learn/sleep/ferber-method)[ ![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F87uht7oc%2Fproduction%2F343a6209694428529f2e909c632df5cd061760d9-1376x768.jpg%3Frect%3D7%2C0%2C1363%2C768%26w%3D440%26h%3D248%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75) ### The chair method: gentle sleep training, step by step In the research it is called camping out, and one trial of 91 infants found it beat graduated extinction for babies with high separation anxiety. The chair schedule, and how to keep the fade moving. ](/learn/sleep/chair-method)[ ![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F87uht7oc%2Fproduction%2F82e02aecc9d0a96177cbb0aadf2f2b74de87d4dd-1376x768.jpg%3Frect%3D7%2C0%2C1363%2C768%26w%3D440%26h%3D248%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75) ### Bedtime fading: fixing a bedtime that is too early An hour of bedtime protest usually means bedtime is too early, not that your baby resists sleep. Measure the real sleep-onset time, start there, and walk it back — the supported method with almost no crying in it. ](/learn/sleep/bedtime-fading)[ ![](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F87uht7oc%2Fproduction%2F23a8a0c674d22b5a8b19fbf3bd9ae7b3b21ced25-1376x768.jpg%3Frect%3D7%2C0%2C1363%2C768%26w%3D440%26h%3D248%26fit%3Dcrop%26auto%3Dformat&w=3840&q=75) ### Pick up, put down: how it works, and what the evidence does not say One of the most recommended gentle techniques, and one of the least studied — a PubMed search returns nothing. How to do it, why it fails when it fails, and what to switch to. ](/learn/sleep/pick-up-put-down) ## Try the free tools - [Baby wake window calculator](/tools/wake-window-calculator) ## Development milestones - [6-9 months](/learn/milestones/6-9-months) - [9-12 months](/learn/milestones/9-12-months) [← All sleep guides](/learn/sleep) [Read as Markdown](/api/markdown?path=%2Flearn%2Fsleep%2Fsleep-training-methods-compared)