Infant Sleep Predicts Attention Regulation and Behavior Problems at 3-4 Years of Age.

This longitudinal study assessed the role of early sleep patterns in predicting attention regulation and behavior problems. Sleep of 43 infants was assessed using actigraphy at 12 months of age and then reassessed when the children were 3-4 years old. During this follow-up, their attention regulation and behavior problems were also assessed using a computerized test and parental reports. Lower quality of sleep in infancy significantly predicted compromised attention regulation and behavior problems. These findings underscore the need to identify and treat early sleep problems.

Reactivity and sleep in infants: a longitudinal objective assessment.

Sleep patterns and temperament in the first year of life are closely related. However, research utilizing objective, rather than subjective measurements of sleep and temperament is scarce and results are inconsistent. In addition, a relative lack of longitudinal data prevents inference of causality between the two constructs. In this study, infant sleep was objectively assessed among 95 infants at 3, 6, and 12 months-of-age with an actigraph in the home setting. Reactivity to sound, light, and touch, a specific aspect of temperament, was behaviorally assessed at 3 and 6 months, both during sleep (at home) and during waking (at the laboratory). Expected maturational trends were recorded in sleep, with a temporal increase in sleep efficiency and percent of motionless sleep. Quadratic (i.e., inverse U shape) relations were found, especially among girls, when predicting change in sleep by reactivity thresholds, suggesting that both hyposensitive and hypersensitive infants are at risk for poor sleep quality. These are the first research findings suggesting that low reactivity in infancy might be associated with compromised sleep quality. The observed nonlinear effects may account for null or inconsistent results in previous studies that explored only linear associations between temperament and sleep. Future studies should address both extremes of the temperament continuum when exploring relations with sleep patterns.

Sleep and physical growth in infants during the first 6 months.

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between infant sleep patterns and infant physical growth (weight for length ratio) using both objective and subjective sleep measures. Ninety-six first-born, healthy 6-month-old infants and their parents participated in the study. Infant sleep was assessed by actigraphy for four consecutive nights and by the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ). In addition, parents were asked to complete background and developmental questionnaires. Questions about feeding methods were included in the developmental questionnaire. Infants' weight and length were assessed during a standard checkup at the infant-care clinic when the infants were 6 months old. Significant correlations were found between infant sleep and growth after controlling for potential infant and family confounding factors. Actigraphic sleep percentage and reported sleep duration were correlated negatively with the weight-to-length ratio measures. Sex-related differences in the associations between sleep and physical growth were found. Breast feeding at night was correlated with a more fragmented sleep, but not with physical growth. These findings suggest that sleep is related significantly to physical growth as early as in the first months of life. The study supports increasing evidence from recent studies demonstrating a link between short sleep duration and weight gain and obesity in young children.