![Reading Festival has laid out its Look Out For The Planet pledge ahead of its return next week, bringing measures set to promote sustainability. Picture: Luke Dyson [LukeDyson.com]](https://wokingham.today/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Img1871502-360x180.jpg)
A FINCHAMPSTEAD mum is helping exhausted parents wake up to a better sleep.
Michelle Brown was excited to return to work as a pharmacist after her son was born.
But the relentless sleep deprivation from getting up five times a night, left her struggling physically and mentally.
With a foggy brain and deep anxieties about functioning at work while feeling exhausted, Michelle was worried about making mistakes. Though advised by some to let her son “cry it out,” Michelle knew that was not the path she wanted to take.
Taking matters into her own hands, she carried out research into the science of sleep and infant brain development. She was able to turn her situation around with gentle and responsive strategies and the results were transformative.
Michelle is now passionate about helping other mums who are either going back to work or are already there and have a child who is waking frequently during the night.
She firmly believes that leaving a baby to cry it out is not the only solution and aims to provide mothers with empowering alternatives.
Her business has now won praise and a special recognition from former Dragon’s Den star, Theo Paphitis.
Michelle said, “Having struggled with sleep deprivation myself, I understand how it can affect so many other areas of your life. Mums often confide in me about the strain it is having on their relationship, increased bickering with their partner, feeling anxious about the nights, difficulties concentrating or making decisions and having no time to themselves as they spend all their evenings trying to settle the baby.”
“So many parents are not aware that there are other options to traditional sleep training where you leave your baby to cry. My message to Mums is that you do not just have to wait it out either as there are so many gentle strategies that you can use to improve your little one’s sleep. Witnessing the profound impact of better sleep on families is incredibly rewarding and parents often tell me that they enjoy their children so much more once sleep is improved.”
The change in Michelle’s life was so profound that she changed her career and undertook training to become a certified sleep consultant, starting her own business, the Baby Sleep Experts, in March 2020.
Michelle now runs a highly successful coaching programme, The Good Night Sleep System specifically for babies aged six to 24 months with Mums joining from all over the world as well as providing one-to-one consultations to families with children up to six-years-old.
Unlike conventional approaches, Michelle’s support is tailored to suit the specific needs of each family, recognizing that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to sleep. She understands that each family’s situation is unique, and considers factors such as the child’s age, development stage, temperament, personality, and parenting style. As a result, she creates bespoke, step-by-step plans tailored to address each child’s specific sleep challenges.
Many families approach Michelle looking for help with frequent night waking but her expertise extends far beyond that. Her guidance also helps families establish more predictable nap patterns, eliminate unsustainable sleep habits, and improve early waking and bedtime battles.
Recently, Michelle’s company received a significant boost when entrepreneur and TV star Theo Paphitis recognised its potential. Known for his role in the BBC show Dragons Den, Paphitis established the Small Business Sunday Awards in 2010 to support small businesses across the UK.
Each week, Mr Paphitis who is chairman of Ryman Stationery, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue promotes six small businesses via his Twitter and Instagram pages to over 500,000 followers as well as being featured on the Small Business Sunday website. It has already had a positive impact with Michelle’s business receiving more enquiries after being selected.
Theo Paphitis, said: “We are thrilled to welcome new #SBS members every week and highlight just how important it is to support our small businesses here in the UK. My vision is that everyone who has ever won an #SBS re-tweet from me becomes part of a friendly club; like-minded individuals who can share successes and learnings. The website will also give a valuable profile to the winners chosen and I wish The Baby Sleep Experts every success.”
Michelle added: “I feel so privileged to be supporting families every day and turning their situations around. I’m passionate about getting the word out so that every parent understands that sleep training is not their only option and that there are gentle and responsive ways for getting better sleep that work. It means so much for Theo to recognise my hard work and help spread the word about what I do.”
For more information, log on to: www.thebabysleepexperts.co.uk
