As stated in the above example, parents of co-sleeping infants are usually able to get more much-needed rest, because they are able to soothe Baby back to sleep without even getting out of bed! Crying is a late sign of infant hunger. Mothers sleeping with babies are usually aware of the early signs, and (if breastfeeding) can feed their babies without either of them having to fully awaken! Also, though some babies seem to be born with their days and nights mixed up, sleeping with others helps an infant know when it is day and when it is night.
Co-sleeping infants and children fall asleep faster, and stay asleep better. If, upon awakening, a baby finds himself snuggled close to his mother, he may go back to sleep instead of crying out. In addition, sleep studies have shown that mothers and babies sleeping together tend to have synchronized sleep cycles, often preventing Baby from waking Mother from deep sleep.
Co-sleeping promotes breastfeeding. Infants who sleep next to their mothers nurse more frequently during the night than breastfeeding infants who sleep apart from their mothers, many times without the mother even remembering in the morning! Night feedings help delay the mother’s fertility from returning, which helps with natural child spacing.
Finally, parents who work during the day find co-sleeping to be a way to reconnect with their children at night. Co-sleeping can make a family feel closer, and siblings who share a sleep space quarrel less during the day.