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Sleeping through the night: a developmental perspective
T F Anders1, L F Halpern, J Hua
1Sleep Disorders Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence.
Insights
Infant sleep habits change significantly in the first 8 months. Allowing infants to fall asleep independently at bedtime promotes self-soothing during nighttime awakenings.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Sleep Medicine
- Infant Behavior
Background:
- Understanding infant sleep patterns is crucial for child development and parental well-being.
- Early sleep habits can establish long-term sleep behaviors.
- Maternal psychological factors may influence infant sleep.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of falling asleep and night waking in infants during the first 8 months of life.
- To examine the relationship between bedtime sleep onset and nighttime awakenings.
- To assess the impact of maternal psychological distress on infant sleep.
Main Methods:
- Utilized all-night time-lapse video recordings at 3 weeks and 3 months of age.
- Conducted Sleep Habits Interviews at 3 weeks, 3 months, and 8 months.
- Administered self-report measures for maternal psychological distress, depression, and self-esteem.
Main Results:
- Parent-infant interactions at bedtime and during the night evolved significantly with infant age.
- Infants who fell asleep independently at bedtime were more likely to self-soothe after nighttime awakenings by 3 months.
- Infants put to sleep already asleep were more likely to be removed from the crib after nighttime awakenings.
Conclusions:
- The method of bedtime sleep onset is associated with subsequent nighttime sleep onset in infants.
- Independent sleep onset at bedtime facilitates self-soothing during night wakings.
- These sleep associations persist through at least 8 months of age.
Abstract:
This study examines falling asleep and night waking in human infants during the first 8 months of life. All-night time-lapse video recordings were obtained at 3 weeks and 3 months of age; a Sleep Habits Interview was completed at these ages and repeated at 8 months of age by telephone interview. At the 3-week and 3-month ages, self-report measures of maternal psychologic distress, depression, and self-esteem were also obtained. The data are examined from both cross-sectional (age group) and longitudinal (individual) perspectives. Parent-infant interactions at bedtime and during the middle of the night changed significantly with increasing age. At 3 weeks of age, most infants were put into their cribs for the night already asleep. When they awakened in the middle of the night, they were removed from their cribs. By the time they returned to their cribs, they were again asleep. By 3 months of age, infants who were put into the crib awake at bedtime and allowed to fall asleep on their own were more likely to return to sleep on their own after awakenings later in the night. In contrast, infants who were put into the crib already asleep at the beginning of the night were significantly more likely to be removed from the crib following a subsequent nighttime awakening. Thus, the pattern of bedtime sleep onset was related to sleep onset following an awakening in the middle of the night. This association was present at 8 months as well.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)