There is good news for tired mums too; a few simple strokes can lull your baby into a deeper, more restful sleep. According to Dr Tiffany Field, director of the Touch research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, “a massage before bedtime is more effective than rocking at helping your baby fall asleep and stay asleep.” Dr Fields’ studies are affirmed by researchers from Warwick Medical School in the UK who looked at nine studies of massage covering a total of 598 infants aged less than six months. These studies showed that babies who were massaged cried less, slept better, and had lower levels of stress hormones compared to infants who did not receive massage. One of the studies also claimed that massage could effect the release of melatonin which is important in aiding infant’s sleeping patterns.