Gentle Sleep, Better Nights – EP 25 w/ Professor Sarah Blunden

Professor Sarah Blunden (MAPS, FCCLP, PhD) is a clinical psychologist, researcher, and international expert in pediatric sleep. She is Director of the Sensible Sleep program and serves as Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Paediatric Sleep at CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute of Behavioural Science. Sarah is also an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Monash University. Her research focuses on childhood sleep, family well-being, and culturally informed approaches to sleep health. She has published widely, developed evidence-based interventions like the Gentle Methods of Self-Settling, and works with families, schools, and health professionals to improve sleep outcomes for children worldwide.

In this episode, Ryan speaks with Professor Sarah Blunden, a world-renowned pediatric sleep researcher from CQUniversity Australia and Monash University. Sarah has spent decades studying how children and adolescents sleep, why their rest is so often disrupted, and what parents and communities can do to better support them. We discuss the most common sleep problems in young kids, how early sleep habits shape emotional and cognitive development, and her Gentle Methods of Self-Settling (GeMSS) approach to helping children learn healthy sleep patterns. We also dive into cultural perspectives on co-sleeping, the pressures parents face to “fix” sleep quickly, and why understanding sleep in context is key for supporting both children and families.