And What Neuroscience Tells Us About Infant Emotional Health
For decades, the “cry it out” sleep training method has been framed as a necessary step toward independence and better sleep. But mounting research now shows that consistently ignoring a baby’s cries may interfere with healthy emotional and neurological development. This growing body of evidence has led health authorities, including the Danish Health Board, to reconsider their guidance and place greater emphasis on responsive care and secure attachment.
This shift reflects what neuroscience and developmental psychology have been showing for years: babies’ brains develop in response to how they are cared for, especially during moments of stress.
Babies cry because it is their only reliable way to communicate. They cry when they are hungry, uncomfortable, overstimulated, scared, or in need of connection. Crying is not a behavior meant to manipulate adults. It is a biological signal asking for help.
When cries are met with comfort, the baby’s nervous system learns that distress is temporary and manageable. When cries are consistently ignored, the baby remains in a heightened stress state with no internal ability to calm themselves.
Self-soothing is not something babies are born with. It is something they learn through repeated experiences of being soothed by a caregiver.
When a baby cries, their body releases stress hormones, particularly cortisol. In healthy situations, cortisol rises briefly and then falls once comfort is provided. But when crying is prolonged and unanswered, cortisol can remain elevated for extended periods.
Research shows that chronically elevated cortisol in infancy can affect brain development, including:
Changes in brain structure
Altered stress-response systems
Reduced ability to regulate emotions later in life
These effects are especially concerning during infancy, when the brain is developing rapidly and is most sensitive to environmental input.
Research highlighted in recent neuroscience-based summaries shows that holding and comforting a baby during sleep and distress directly supports healthy brain wiring.
Gentle, consistent touch activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the system responsible for calm and regulation. It also stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone associated with bonding, safety, and emotional regulation.
Studies indicate that babies who are regularly soothed and held develop stronger connections between the prefrontal cortex (PFC), responsible for reasoning and regulation, and the amygdala, the brain’s fear center. This connection is essential for managing stress and preventing anxiety later in life.
In simple terms, comfort teaches the brain how to calm itself.
Consistent responsiveness to crying helps babies form secure attachment. Secure attachment is associated with:
Responsive care acts as “scaffolding” for the immature nervous system. The caregiver provides regulation until the child’s brain can gradually take over that role on its own.
This does not create dependence. It creates trust.
When mothers use the cry it out method, they are often asked to override one of the strongest biological instincts they have, the urge to pick up, soothe, and protect their crying baby. That instinct is not weakness or anxiety, it is a built-in response shaped by evolution to help regulate an infant’s immature nervous system. Ignoring a baby’s cries requires a mother to suppress her own stress response while her baby remains in distress, creating a disconnect that can be deeply unsettling for both. Research suggests that repeated, prolonged crying without comfort can keep an infant’s stress system activated, increasing cortisol levels and interfering with healthy brain and emotional development. Over time, this pattern may affect how a child learns to manage stress, trust caregivers, and feel safe in relationships. The consequences are not immediate or visible, but they can quietly shape emotional health long after the crying stops.
Recognizing this growing body of evidence, the Danish Health Board has moved away from endorsing “cry it out” approaches. Their updated recommendations emphasize emotional safety, responsiveness, and caregiver presence as central to healthy development.
This shift acknowledges that sleep is not just behavioral. It is deeply connected to emotional regulation, attachment, and long-term mental health.
Babies do not need to learn that no one will come when they cry. They need to learn that the world is safe, that stress can be managed, and that connection is reliable.
Responding to cries strengthens the brain, builds secure attachment, and lays the groundwork for emotional health that lasts a lifetime.
Comfort is not spoiling.
Responsiveness is not weakness.
And supporting a baby through distress is not creating problems, it is preventing them.
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