Baby Sleep Products
Sliced Bread
BBC
4.6 • 695 Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sleep deprived parents everywhere are tempted to reach for anything that might help them get a little more sleep overnight – but can products promising to encourage babies to snooze for longer – really do that? And is there any science to back it up?
That is exactly what tired Dad-of-three Dave wanted to know – and whether there were any future implications from using these gadgets, docks, blinds and sleep bags?
New Dad Greg Foot speaks to Director of the Durham Infancy and Sleep Centre Professor Helen Ball, to find out.
You can also read the official Safer Sleep guidance, by copy and pasting the links below into your browser:
NHS - https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/baby-basics/newborn-and-baby-sleeping-advice-for-parents/safe-sleep-advice-for-babies/
Lullaby Trust - https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/baby-safety/safer-sleep-information/safer-sleep-overview/
RESEARCHER: PHIL SANSOM
PRODUCER: KATE HOLDSWORTH & GREG FOOT
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep. |
| 0:11.0 | The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs. |
| 0:16.0 | It's been an incredible story with these drugs. |
| 0:18.1 | The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amount of money |
| 0:21.2 | is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use. |
| 0:26.5 | We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going |
| 0:31.3 | to have to fix. The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:40.6 | Hello, I'm Greg Foote and welcome to Slice Bread, the show that investigates the wonder products |
| 0:45.1 | promising to make you happier, healthier or greener. Each episode, we follow the crumbs of evidence |
| 0:49.9 | to find out if one of your suggested wonder products is indeed the best things since sliced bread |
| 0:54.5 | or marketing BS. And today's suggestion comes from Dave Picard from Hampshire. Hello Dave. |
| 0:59.7 | Hi Greg. What wonder product would you like us to investigate? As a dad of three young children, |
| 1:05.3 | I'd love you to investigate baby sleep products. It's a subject very close to my heart, Dave. I've got a seven week old baby. |
| 1:11.6 | And what I'd like to do is I'd like to break from tradition and actually start us off by playing the voice note that you sent into our WhatsApp number 07543-306-807. Because I think this just perfectly sums up why we're going to cover this topic today. Hi, Greg. It's just gone 5.30 on a Sunday morning. One year old is already up for the day. |
| 1:30.0 | I'm just wondering if there's any science out there on all of the different products that are |
| 1:35.9 | quoted to help with babies sleep. This is our third baby. We thought we knew what we were doing |
| 1:42.8 | and she's been the worst of the three and as |
| 1:45.4 | exhausted sleep deprived working full-time parents we've definitely felt gullible and I've |
| 1:51.4 | bought pretty much most of the products just in the hope that it's going to help thanks very |
| 1:56.2 | much love your show all this doesn't wake you up Dave I'm sure a lot of parents can relate to that. |
| 2:03.3 | What did you try? |
... |
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