Snoring in infancy linked to impaired cognitive development

Two studies from Australia associate snoring in the first year of life to impaired cognitive development. Researchers suggest that lower cognitive development could become worse in these infants with age.

In the first study, 16 infants who started snoring shortly after birth were compared with 88 babies who did not snore. Infants were determined to be snorers if their snoring occurred three or more nights a week. Snoring because of a cold did not count. The results found that cognitive development was reduced in frequent snorers from the first month of life to six months.

The second study looked at 13 infants who snored frequently from the first month of birth to 12 months. These babies had significantly lower cognitive scores when compared with 78 infants who did not snore frequently.

Both studies were conducted through the University of Adelaide and University of Australia in South Australia. The research was published in the December edition of the journal Sleep Medicine.

Learn the facts about young children and sleep and about snoring. Additional stories about children and snoring are available on the Sleep Education blog.

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Online Toolset Helps Young Children and Their Parents Find Sleep

Sleep-deprived new parents may want to put down the baby books and turn to the internet for help. A new study in the April issue of the journal SLEEP shows internet-based interventions work wonders reducing infant and toddler sleep disturbances.

Mothers in the study used Johnson & Johnson’s Customized Sleep Profile, an online program that compares a child’s sleep to other children of the same age. Parents enter details about the child’s sleep habits, such as position, sleep environment and bedtime routine and times awoken per night.

The program uses an algorithm to generate a summary of the child’s sleep habits and generates customized recommendations. A child can be an “excellent, good or disrupted sleeper.”

A group of 264 mothers were randomly assigned to an internet intervention group or a control group. Following an internet intervention, parents reported a 50 percent or more decrease in the number and duration of night wakings. Children took less time to fall asleep and had a longer total sleep time at night. As a result, the mothers slept better and had notable improvements in levels of tension, depression, fatigue and confusion.

Johnson & Johnson’s Customized Sleep Profile seems to be an effective place to start if your child is a disturbed sleeper. The algorithm gives at least some useful advice that benefited the mothers in the study.

Similar internet interventions are available from other online sources. It’s too early to know that the other programs work, because the study only examined the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson’s Customized Sleep Profile.

Sleep problems are common among young children – as many as 30 percent of infants and toddlers have disrupted sleep. Young children have a form of sleep apnea, which would require treatment. If you believe your child’s sleep problems may be serious, skip the internet intervention and see your family pediatrician instead.

Read more about Sleep & Young Children.

Nighttime Sleep Essential for Mental Development in Young Children

Good nighttime sleep at a very early age may help kick-start cognitive development and give kids a leg-up in school. The amount of nighttime sleep – not daytime naps – is the key component to advanced executive function in children, a study included in the November/December issue of Child Development reports.

Executive function is another name for a specific group of mental skill areas essential for success in the classroom. Skills include attentiveness, self-discipline, organization, memorization and the abilities to plan, think and work with others. Executive function develops rapidly across the first six years of life. Little is known about why some children are more successful at developing those skills than their peers.

The study followed 60 Canadian children between their 12 and 26 months of age. At the 12 and 18 month mark, each parent completed sleep diaries by recording when their child slept and for what length. Researchers tested the children’s executive function at 18 and 26 months of age.

Results show children who slept mostly at night did better at most executive function-related tests, especially the tasks involving impulse control. The number of times the children woke per night did not impact test results. The findings held true even after the authors adjusted for factors such as socio-economic class, parents’ education level and children’s general cognitive skills.

The authors of the study note that infant sleep later sets in motion the development of more advanced executive skills. This may help flesh out recent findings that linked earlier bedtimes to higher test scores in school-aged children.

The AASM recommends infants get a minimum of 14 hours of sleep per day for healthy development. Toddlers should sleep 12 to 14 hours per night. Start your child’s health habits out on the right foot and make their sleep a priority.

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Baby Keeping You from Sleep? Wait a Few Months

Parenting seems a lot less rewarded when you’re waking constantly to tend to a crying child. Consistent fatigue can suck the joy out of one of life’s most gratifying milestones. The good news is the end is in sight, and it’s a lot closer than you might think.

More than half of babies sleep through the night after about two or three months, researchers have discovered. A much smaller number of parents won’t be so lucky. Less than 15 percent of babies won’t stop waking or crying until after their first birthday.

The study looked at the sleep patterns of 75 healthy newborns over 12 months. During that timeframe, parents kept sleep diaries for their child and installed a camera where the baby slept to make time-lapse recordings. Researchers used the video to check the accuracy of the sleep logs.

The study reports the largest change in uninterrupted sleep came after the first month. The average child sleeps an extra three hours without waking. At three months, half of babies began sleeping from midnight to 5 a.m. One month later the same group slept from eight hours.

Parents also reported better rest after five months. Half of the new parents reported sleeping six hours or more.

A small number of the babies still regularly woke after their first birthday.

Parents may be able to help children who frequently wake late in their infancy. Make sure the baby’s sleep environment is comfortable, quiet and dark. Babies should be on a consistent sleep and feeding schedule.

Other factors, such as health problems can keep children awake. Consult a doctor if your child’s sleep doesn’t significantly increase after a year.

New Mothers Sleep Plenty, Wake Often

No one ever says they expect to catch up on their sleep after having a kid. Somehow, mothers actually get plenty of rest – a full seven hours, according to new findings. Only those hours are sabotaged by waking to care for a sleepless infant for a total of two hours per night.

New mothers’ total sleep time surprised researchers at the University of West Virginia. The results of the study were published in the August issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Participants wore sleep-monitoring devices on their wrists throughout much of the postpartum period. A group of 50 mothers were monitored in weeks 2-13. Another 24 new moms wore wrist actigraphs between the 9th and 16th weeks.

The total sleep time did not change through the later weeks, but the interruptions became less frequent.

Most mothers reported feeling fatigued during the daytime, despite getting more than the recommended amount of total sleep. Repeat overnight disruptions may prevent them completing full sleep cycles.

Few mothers chose to nap to fight off daytime fatigue. Naps that last less than 90 minutes won’t fully make up for lost REM sleep but may help mothers feel better.

In an interview with Reuters Health, head researcher Dr. Hawley E. Montgomery-Downs recommended moms can make up for lost sleep by napping when their baby naps. She also suggested couples who breastfeed can split the overnight duties by having milk ready in bottles.

Parents may also want to take a close look at their parental style. Last week the Sleep Education Blog reported infants wake less often when their parents are warm and emotionally available.

Always make sleep a priority. After all, couples who sleep well while caring for an infant are likely to last.

New Parents Lose Six Months of Sleep, says Unscientific Survey

Prospective parents usually go into the final months of pregnancy bracing for months of poor sleep. New information about the amount of sleep most lose may surprise even the most experienced mothers and fathers.

There’s a report out that parents lose an average of six months of sleep in the first two years of raising a child.

There’s good reason to be suspicious about this seemingly inflated statistic. The information came from a completely unscientific survey conducted by a bed and mattress manufacturer. We’ll share the results anyway, but take them with a grain of salt.

The surveyors reached out to 1,000 parents in the United Kingdom earlier this July as part an event called “National Love Your Bed Week.”

Almost two thirds of parents reported getting about three and three-quarters hour of sleep, including naps during the first two years of raising a child. Silentnight Beds supposedly did the math. The press release reports those parents missed out on six months of total sleep during that period. About 1 in 10 parents had less than two-and-a-half hours of uninterrupted sleep.

There’s no way to verify any of these statistics, but it doesn’t take a peer-approved clinical study to know new parents will lose sleep. Luckily the Sleep Education Blog and Sleepeducation.com have some advice to get some sleep while raising a newborn.

Sleep-Deprived Parents May Find Answers in Infant Study

New parents go to bed knowing its coming and its going to ruin their sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, maybe around 3 or 4 a.m., they’ll waken to the sound of their infant child crying.

Everyone seems to take a different approach to getting their baby to sleep again. Do you leave the child alone, or do you rock the baby to sleep? Do you bring your baby to your bed with you? Right now there’s no clear answer to this parenting peril.

In a few years may change. Canadian researchers are launching a project called the “Rocky Baby Study,” to test these different approaches, the Montreal Gazette reports.

About 250 babies will wear a small wrist actigraph as they sleep to monitor their sleep/wake patterns.

The study coordinators are betting on something called the Australian model of intervention. The program educates parents about infant sleep habits and requirements. They will learn sleep patterns change and babies can sleep on their own for a longer time after six months. The parents will also receive training and tips for bedtime and daytime sleep rituals.

The study is expected to be completed in 2 ½ years. It may take even longer before the results are published.

The months after childbirth are usually the most difficult for parents. Most complaints about sleep disturbance and daytime impairment usually occur within the first six months.

Parents should make sleep a top priority, for the sake of their health and their family. Recent findings suggest first-time parents who are able to sleep are more satisfied with their partners.

The AASM reports there are several things new parents can do to improve their sleep.

Ability to sleep while caring for infant predicts relationship satisfaction

A couple who can sleep while caring for an infant is a couple that’s more likely to last. Results of a new study show first-time parents’ relationship satisfaction is related to the amount of sleep they get.

Investigators studied 22 couples 7 weeks after the birth of their first child.

Self-reported relationship satisfaction tended to be higher when parents slept longer, as measured by actigraphy. How well they thought they slept had less of an impact.

First-time fathers were more satisfied than their partners estimated. Mothers also overrated their spouses sleep quality. Fathers tended to underestimate their wives subjective sleep quality.

Researchers measured the parents’ sleep efficiency and total sleep time for one week using wrist actigraphy. Parents also reported their perceived sleep and their partner’s sleep using a Palm Pilot. At the end of the period the couples rated their own and their partner’s relationship satisfaction.

The study’s lead author said although the findings don’t allow for causality, they suggest parents would greatly benefit from measures that target sleep during the postpartum period.

Parents typically have high levels of sleep disturbance and significant daytime functional impairments after childbirth.

The AASM encourages new parents to make sleep a top priority. A well rested couple can provide the best care for an infant child.

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Infant study: Sleeping babies capable of learning

A study released today reveals infants are capable of making real-world associations while they’re deep in dreamland.

Researchers at Columbia University repeatedly played a tone while blowing a puff of air into 26 sleeping infants’ eyelids. Each time the babies would scrunch their faces in response.

Eventually the puffs of air stopped, and the tone continued. A video camera that recorded their facial expressions shows almost a Pavlovian response. Nearly all of the infants scrunched their faces as if they were bracing for another air burst.

Electroencephalogram readings show there were fluctuations in brain wave activity with each tone. The authors of the study believe this is evidence that the infants learned to associate the tone and air puffs.

Babies who were not exposed to the air bursts had no reaction to the tones.

This type of learning is controlled by the cerebellum, the section of the brain that connects sensory input and muscular response.

Because of the limitation of the study scientists still don’t know if adults are able to make the same type of associations in their sleep.

In April, we learned that dreams can help the adult brain learn complex tasks, like navigating a 3-D maze. You can read the entire article here at the Sleepeducation blog.

On a side note, the authors say the techniques they used in the sleeping infant study may lead to the discovery of a test for certain developmental disorders. The non-invasive test would hopefully identify infants who are at risk for developmental disorders don’t show up until later in life.

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Sleep Parenting Across Cultures

Last week a Salon article addressed the controversial topic of sleep parenting. Ada Calhoun shared how she and her husband grappled with conflicting advice about what was best for their newborn.

“Cry it out” sleep training. Attachment parenting. Baby management. New parents can become overwhelmed by all of the advice offered by parenting books.

Now Calhoun is joining the debate with her own book. Instinctive Parenting advises parents to “find what works for you and your family and ditch the anxiety and judgment.”



But sleep parenting can vary widely across cultures. A recent study compared countries that are mostly Caucasian with those that are primarily Asian.

The study involved parents of 29,287 infants and toddlers. Seventeen countries were represented. Parents completed a questionnaire on the Internet.

Results published in March show that young children in Asian countries went to bed later and slept less. Bed sharing and room sharing also were more common in their homes.

Bedtimes ranged from 7:27 p.m. in New Zealand to 10:17 p.m. in Hong Kong. Total sleep time ranged from 11.6 hours in Japan to 13.3 hours in New Zealand.

In New Zealand only 5.8 percent of parents reported sharing a bed with their infant or toddler. In contrast bed sharing was reported by 83.2 percent of parents in Vietnam.

The initial results of the study were presented at SLEEP 2008. Another report based on the research will be published in April.

It shows that 57 percent of parents in Caucasian countries reported that their child falls asleep independently in his or her own crib or bed. This was reported by just four percent of parents in primarily Asian regions.

In 2006 the AASM published practice parameters for bedtime problems and night wakings in young children and infants. A task force of experts reviewed all of the current research on this topic.

The report recommends sleep training to help infants and toddlers learn to fall asleep on their own. You can read a summary of the report on SleepEducation.com.

Discuss any ongoing sleep problems with your child’s doctor. He or she may refer you to an AASM-accredited sleep center for help.

Read more about sleep and children.

Solving SIDS: The Serotonin Connection

A new study found low levels of serotonin in the brain tissue of infants who died from SIDS. The study suggests that a brain defect may cause some babies to be more vulnerable to sudden death while they sleep.

The results were published today in JAMA.



The autopsy analysis involved 35 infants who died from SIDS. They were compared with five infants who died from known causes.

Researchers examined small samples of tissue from the medulla. This is a region at the base of the brain. It regulates basic functions such as body temperature, breathing, blood pressure and heart rate.

Results show that serotonin levels were 26 percent lower in SIDS cases than in controls. Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps regulate mood. It also plays a role in regulating vital functions like breathing and blood pressure.

Measurements of “tryptophan hydroxylase” also were 22 percent lower in SIDS infants. This is an enzyme that is needed to make serotonin.

The authors suspect that this defect may hinder an infant’s capacity to respond to breathing challenges. As a result the child may inhale carbon dioxide that was exhaled while sleeping face down.

"Our research suggests that sleep unmasks the brain defect," senior author Dr. Hannah C. Kinney said in an NIH news release. "When the infant is breathing in the face-down position, he or she may not get enough oxygen. An infant with a normal brainstem would turn his or her head and wake up in response. But a baby with an intrinsic abnormality is unable to respond to the stressor."

Kinney hopes that a test will be developed to detect the abnormality. Steps could be taken to protect the infants who are most vulnerable.

She also said parents should continue to follow the Back to Sleep tips for safe infant sleep.

"Until 12 months of age, babies should sleep on their backs in a crib with a firm mattress, and without toys, soft pillows, excessive blanketing or excessive clothing," she told AFP.

An earlier study led by Kinney involved 31 infants who died of SIDS. The brainstems from SIDS infants contained more neurons that make and use serotonin. This suggested that the brain was compensating for low levels of serotonin.

Read more about sleep and infants and SIDS.

Sleep Tips for New Parents

Today MarketWatch reporter Ruth Mantell described how working parents struggle to get enough sleep after the birth of a baby.

“Caring for a newborn is tough on working parents, especially with limited corporate parental leave policies,” she wrote.

She offered advice to help sleep-deprived parents. One tip was to develop a routine that involves a manageable feeding schedule.

"A tremendous amount of sleep is habit driven," AASM member Dr. David Rapoport told Mantell. "So if you set up a routine you better be prepared to live with it."

Another tip was to resist comforting your baby every time he or she cries.

"Once you set limits, babies will generally adapt to them after an initial attempt to get as much comforting as they can out of you," Rapoport said.

Last year the Sleep Education Blog reported that there is an ongoing debate regarding the best way to get a baby to sleep. Some support the “cry it out” technique. Others promote “attachment parenting.”

But one technique that should be a part of any parenting style is the establishment of a relaxing bedtime routine. Last year a study found that a nightly routine helps young children sleep better.

There also is a debate regarding the risks of co-sleeping and bed sharing. The AASM reminds parents to avoid putting an infant to sleep in a car seat. And a recent recall involved more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft.

Read more about sleep and infants. On SleepEducation.com the AASM offers these sleep tips for new parents.

Infant Sleep: SIDS & Crib Safety

A new study examined trends and factors associated with infant sleeping position.

The study analyzed telephone surveys from 1993 through 2007. Each year’s survey involved nighttime caregivers of infants born within the last seven months. They were asked, “Do you have a position you usually place your baby in?”

Results show that the proportion of babies placed to sleep on their backs steadily increased between 1993 and 2001. But there was no change after 2001.

Maternal concerns about infant comfort and choking reduced the rate that infants were placed to sleep on their backs. Caregivers were more likely to put infants to sleep on their backs if they were advised to do so by a doctor.

“Placing infants on their backs for sleep remains the single most effective means we know to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome," Marian Willinger, PhD, said in a NIH news release. She is the special assistant for SIDS research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The NICHD funded the analysis.

In 1994 the NICHD launched the “Back to Sleep” campaign. It urges parents and caregivers to place infants to sleep on their backs.

The NICHD reports that the rate of infant back sleeping has increased from roughly 25 percent to about 70 percent. At the same time, the SIDS rate has decreased by more than 50 percent.

Last month the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft. This included about 147,000 cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The cribs were sold at major retailers such as Sears and Wal-Mart.



There have been 110 reported incidents of drop-side detachment in the U.S. and Canada. These included 15 entrapments and 20 falls from the crib. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises.

Consumers can contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit. It allows you to convert the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side. Parents and caregivers are urged to stop using the recalled cribs until the repair is made.

Contact Stork Craft toll-free at (877) 274-0277 anytime to order the free repair kit. You also can go online to www.storkcraft.com. For more information on Crib Safety, visit the CPSC's Crib Information Center.

Earlier this year the Sleep Education Blog reported that babies should never be put to sleep in a car safety seat. Learn more about sleep and infants & toddlers.

Infant Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is common in adults; OSA also occurs in children, especially in preschoolers. Central sleep apnea is most common in middle-aged and older adults. But did you know that infants can have sleep apnea too?

Primary sleep apnea of infancy is most common in small, preterm infants; it is rare in full-term newborns.

During the first month after birth it may occur in about 84 percent of infants who weigh less than 2.2 pounds. The risk decreases to about 25 percent for infants who weigh less than 5.5 pounds.

Apneas that occur in larger premature infants and full-term infants tend to be “central” apneas. These apneas occur when the body decreases or stops its effort to breathe.

The majority of apneas that occur in small, premature infants are “mixed” apneas. These breathing pauses involve an obstructive apnea that directly follows a central apnea.

An obstructive apnea involves a halt in airflow despite an ongoing effort to breathe. It occurs when soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and blocks the upper airway.

Primary sleep apnea of infancy may be a developmental problem; it may be related to the immaturity of the brain.

It also may be caused or made worse by a variety of medical problems. These include anemia, an infection, acid reflux and chronic lung disease.

In most cases short-term treatment is required. The good news is that primary sleep apnea of infancy tends to go away as the child grows and matures. Long-term complications are rare for most children with primary sleep apnea of infancy.

Learn more about primary sleep apnea of infancy on SleepEducation.com.

Sleep, Infants & Breastfeeding

A new study suggests that nighttime breast milk may help babies fall asleep.

Researchers in Spain analyzed the content of breast milk samples. They found a “circadian rhythm” for some nucleotides in the milk. The levels of some nucleotides rose at night; others rose during the day.

"This made us realize that milk induces sleep in babies," lead author Cristina Sánchez told The Telegraph.

She said the finding is important for mothers who pump and store milk for later. Milk pumped during the day shouldn’t be given to a baby at night.

"It is a mistake for the mother to express the milk at a certain time and then store it and feed it to the baby at a different time," she said.

Another study suggests that a mother’s laughter may be good medicine for a sleepless baby. It found that mothers who watched a funny movie had increased levels of melatonin in their breast milk. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle.

Other studies show that breastfeeding may provide additional sleep benefits.

One study involved 196 habitually snoring children. Results show that the severity of sleep-disordered breathing was much lower in children who had been fed breast milk for at least two months.

In 2006 a study suggested that breastfeeding may protect against bedwetting; infants who were breastfed for longer than three months were less likely to suffer from bedwetting during childhood.

Another study found that breastfeeding also may help parents sleep. Parents of breastfeeding infants slept about 40 to 45 minutes longer than parents of infants who were given formula. They also reported less sleep disturbance.

The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that babies be fed only breast milk for the first six months of life.

Read more about sleep and infants. Learn how to help your baby fall asleep with a simple bedtime routine.

Do Ads Influence How Babies Sleep?

A new study in Pediatrics found that more than one-third of photographs in advertisements and articles in magazines geared toward women, expectant parents, and parents of young children show babies sleeping on their sides or stomachs, and nearly two-thirds of the pictures show infant sleep environments that increase risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Pictures that show babies sleeping on their side or stomach create confusion about infant sleep and may lead to unsafe practices.

A total of 391 unique pictures from 34 magazine issues were analyzed for sleep positions, including whether or not the baby was placed on its side or stomach rather than on its back, as well as dangers in infant sleeping environments, including soft bedding. Only 36 (36.4%) pictures showed infants sleeping in safe environments.

Of 122 pictures of infants sleeping, only 64% showed the babies sleeping on their backs. Compared with pictures accompanying news articles, photos in advertisements were more likely to show babies sleeping on their sides or stomachs (39% versus 27%).

To reduce the risk of SIDS, the AAP recommends that babies sleep separately from their parents and be placed in a crib on their backs, without blankets, pillows, or other soft bedding. Soft and loose bedding increases the risk of SIDS about five-fold overall and 21-fold when babies are also sleeping on their stomachs, according to the researchers.

Learn more about SIDS on SleepEducation.com.

Child Sleep Problems May Begin in the Womb

A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep examined prenatal factors that are related to sleep problems in children.

The study involved 289 children born in Finland in 1998; each child was born at term from 37 to 42 weeks of gestation. Sleep was measured by actigraphy for one week when the children were 8 years of age. Parents reported sleep problems and sleep disorder symptoms.

Results link prenatal alcohol exposure to an increased risk of sleep problems in childhood.

Alcohol "exposure" was defined as a mother drinking more than one alcoholic beverage per week during pregnancy.

Children exposed to alcohol before birth were 2.5 times more likely to have a “short” sleep duration of 7.7 hours or less per night. The AASM reports that at 8 years of age children need about nine to 10 hours of nightly sleep.

Children also were 3.6 times more likely to have a low “sleep efficiency” of 77.2 percent or less if they were exposed to alcohol in the womb; sleep efficiency indicates how much of their time in bed was spent sleeping.

“Adverse fetal environment may have lifelong influences on health and behavior,” principal investigator Katri Räikkönen, PhD, told the AASM.

The CDC reports that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause a baby to be born with birth defects. About 1 in 12 pregnant women in the U.S. reports alcohol use.

Size at birth also was related to childhood sleep problems; lower weight and shorter length were associated with lower sleep efficiency. The authors report that small body size at birth may reflect disturbances in the fetal environment.

One finding surprised the authors: There was no link between prenatal tobacco exposure and sleep at 8 years of age.

Learn more about sleep and pregnancy on SleepEducation.com.

How to Help Your Child Sleep Better

A new study confirmed that poor “sleep hygiene” has a negative effect on the sleep patterns of young children.

The study analyzed data from a national poll of 1,473 parents and caregivers; their children ranged in age from newborns to 10-year-olds. The poll included questions on sleep habits and sleep patterns.

Having a late bedtime after 9 p.m. was associated with sleep problems across all ages. Children who went to bed late took longer to fall asleep; they also had a shorter total sleep time.

Having a parent present when the child falls asleep also affected all age groups; these children woke up more often during the night.

Children 3 years of age and older had a shorter total sleep time if they had a TV in the bedroom; they also obtained less sleep if they had no consistent bedtime routine.

Children 5 years of age and older slept less if they regularly consumed caffeine.

The authors concluded that good sleep hygiene helps young children sleep better. Basic tips that parents should put into practice include:

- Letting children fall asleep independently
- Putting children to bed before 9 p.m.
- Establishing a bedtime routine that includes reading
- Helping children avoid caffeine
- Keeping a TV out of the bedroom

In May the Sleep Education Blog reported that a simple, four-step nightly routine helps children sleep better. Children fell asleep faster, and they had fewer and shorter night wakings.

In March the blog reported on TV, children and bedtime. Studies indicate that watching TV can have a negative effect on children’s sleep.

Learn more about sleep and children on SleepEducation.com.

Do the Babies of Depressed Moms Have More Sleep Disturbances?

A small study in the journal Sleep examined the sleep of babies born to mothers who struggle with depression.

Results show that these babies are more likely to have disturbed sleep at 2 weeks of age. These sleep problems remain present at the age of 6 months.

The study involved 18 healthy, full-term babies. Seven “low-risk” infants were born to women with no history of depression. Eleven “high-risk” babies were born to women diagnosed with depression or with high levels of depression symptoms.

Babies born to depressed moms took an hour longer to fall asleep at night. They also had shorter periods of sleep. Their average total sleep time during a 24-hour period was similar to the “low-risk” babies. But their nightly sleep was 97 minutes shorter; during the daytime they had more sleep episodes of a shorter average duration.

Are these sleep problems directly linked to the mother’s depression? Is it the mother’s hormone levels that affect the infant’s sleep? This is still unclear, study author Roseanne Armitage, PhD, told the AASM.

“Whether it is maternal hormones that ‘cause’ the sleep problems in infants is not yet known,” she said. “It could be genetic, hormonal, or both.”

But Armitage thinks that it is possible to improve the sleep of babies born to depressed moms. A behavioral or environmental intervention may be helpful.

Learn more about how to help your infant sleep better on SleepEducation.com.

Sleep Around the World: What about Children?

As the Sleep Education Blog reported, the OECD recently compared the sleep times of people in 18 countries. It found that people in Korea and Japan get the least sleep; people in the U.S. have the second-highest daily sleep time. The U.S. time use survey involved people who were 15 years of age and older.

But what about children? Are there differences around the world in how long children normally sleep?

A study abstract presented last June at SLEEP 2008 provided some insights. It focused on 17 countries that were primarily Asian or Caucasian.

The study involved parents of more than 21,000 infants and toddlers; the age range of the children was from newborn to three years of age. The parents completed a questionnaire about their child’s sleep.

The study found a pattern that is similar to the OECD report. Results suggest that young children in Asian countries get less sleep each day than young children in Caucasian countries. Asian children also have later bedtimes. There were no differences in night wakings or napping behaviors.

Hong Kong children are up the latest with an average bedtime of 10:10 p.m. Children in Indonesia, Taiwan and Korea also go to bed after 10 p.m. Children in New Zealand go to bed the earliest; their average bedtime is 7:16 p.m. Children in Australia and the U.K. also go to bed before 8 p.m. U.S. children have the seventh-earliest bedtime of 8:52 p.m.

An early bedtime helps New Zealand children get the most sleep; they sleep for an average of 13.3 hours per day. This total combines nightly sleep and daytime naps. Children in Australia and the U.K. also get more than 13 hours of daily sleep. U.S. children rank fifth with an average of 12.9 hours of total sleep time per day. Japanese children have the lowest total sleep time of 11.6 hours per day. Children in Indonesia and Korea also get less than 12 hours of sleep per day.

The AASM reports that newborns up to three months of age need about 16 to 20 hours of total sleep time per day. Infants between three months and 12 months of age need about 14 to 15 hours of sleep per day. Toddlers between the ages of one year and four years need about 12 to 14 hours of total sleep time.

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