Melbourne, Mar 14 (ANI): Mothers shouldn't lose their sleep when their baby cries, instead they should let children cry themselves to sleep, as it is apparently good, a new study claims.

A six-year Australian study recommends doctors and health workers to advise families to adopt the controversial method of controlled crying -letting children cry itself to sleep - to beat sleep problems.

Researchers from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne claim controlled crying reduced babies' sleeping problems by 30 per cent within four months and cut depression rates in mothers by 40 per cent by the time children turned two.

Lead author Anna Price, said: "Hopefully this evidence really will reassure parents who want to manage their children's sleep by using these kind of strategies.

"We totally understand that hearing your baby crying is difficult for any parent, but it's great to know if they persevere, they are not doing their child any harm.

"It's quite phenomenal. We know that early sleep problems double the risk of post-natal depression in mothers, which can affect bonding with the child."

By the time the babies reached age of two, 85 per cent of parents agreed controlled crying had improved their relationship with their child.

Meanwhile, the remaining 15 per cent reported no change, but none thought it had done any harm, reports The Daily Telegraph.

However, critics call controlled crying "cruel" and fear it may have "unintended negative consequences" for children in the future.

The study will be presented to the World Health Congress of Internal Medicine later this month. (ANI)