PRISMA Sleep
Understand sleep. Create the conditions. Support the baby.
PRISMA Sleep is an infant sleep consulting method grounded in an understanding of sleep biology, nervous system maturation, child development, and the individual needs of each family.
We begin with a simple idea: sleep is not something that can be forced or imposed. It is a biological process that occurs when the body has the conditions it needs to sleep.
Rather than starting with the question of how to make a baby sleep in a particular way, PRISMA Sleep starts by asking:
What does this baby need for sleep to occur?
The Six Dimensions of PRISMA
The name PRISMA represents six elements that interact with one another and help us understand each baby's sleep and each family's unique circumstances:
Sleep Pressure
The biological drive for sleep that builds up during the time we are awake.
Circadian Rhythm & Routines
The biological clock that organizes periods of sleep and wakefulness and becomes increasingly established through environmental cues, including a consistent wake-up time and the routines that accompany each transition into sleep.
Intuition & Instinct
The information caregivers already have about their baby: how they behave, what they need, what helps them settle, and the signals they are communicating.
Emotional & Physical Safety
The sense of emotional and physical safety that allows the nervous system to reduce its level of activation and support rest.
Melatonin & Maturation
Melatonin and the maturation processes involved in organizing sleep and in the development of the baby's ability to connect and consolidate periods of sleep.
Adaptation & Love
Because there is no single schedule, method, or strategy that works for every baby. The plan must adapt to the child, their developmental stage, and the reality of their family.
Co-regulation: A Core Pillar of PRISMA Sleep
Babies are still developing their ability to regulate their internal states. For this reason, the state of the adult supporting them is also part of the environment in which sleep occurs.
A caregiver who feels safe, calm, and confident in reading their baby's cues can provide a very different environment from one who is exhausted, anxious, or under enormous pressure to make their baby sleep.
PRISMA Sleep also works with this dimension. It is not only about changing what we do with the baby. It is about understanding what is happening within the entire system surrounding the baby.
About Vanessa Velásquez-Rousseau
I am Vanessa Velásquez-Rousseau, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), credential L-305184, and the founder of PRISMA Sleep.
My specialized training in infant sleep includes La Neurociencia del Sueño Infantil: Bases científicas y aplicación en la práctica clínica, through the Centro de Estudios del Sueño Infantil (CESI), and Broken Sleep: Insights and Evidence-Based Approaches to Infant Sleep, through Breastfeeding Conferences.
These programs have covered sleep architecture and regulation, the development and evolution of infant sleep, healthy sleep, pediatrics, sleep disorders, behavioral interventions, sleep safety, sleep in company, breastfeeding and sleep, attachment, sensory processing, and the practical application of infant sleep knowledge from birth through early childhood.
My role as a sleep consultant is to assess a child's sleep and wake patterns in relation to their age, development, biological sleep needs, and family context, and then develop an individualized action plan.
I don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. I believe in understanding the baby first, and then deciding which strategies make sense for that particular family.
An important note
PRISMA Sleep provides infant and child sleep consulting. It is not a medical or neurological assessment service.
I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions, neurological disorders, or other health conditions. My recommendations do not replace an evaluation by a pediatrician, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional.
When a situation requires medical assessment, I recommend that the family consult the appropriate healthcare professional.
PRISMA Sleep is not about teaching babies how to sleep. It is about helping families understand sleep and create the conditions that allow it to happen.
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