Infant growth in length follows prolonged sleep and increased naps

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
08:20

Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood

Published on: October 2, 2019

Michelle Lampl1, Michael L Johnson

  • 1Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. mlampl@emory.edu

Sleep
|May 3, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Infant sleep patterns and growth spurts are linked. Increased sleep duration and more frequent naps correlate with length growth, suggesting an integrated anabolic system in infants.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Pediatrics
  • Sleep Medicine

Background:

  • Infant sleep irregularity mechanisms remain unclear.
  • The relationship between sleep patterns and physical growth in infants is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that infant sleep and episodic length growth are coupled processes.
  • To investigate the temporal relationship between sleep characteristics and saltatory growth in infants.

Main Methods:

  • Daily parental diaries recorded sleep onset and awakening for 23 infants over 4-17 months.
  • Multiple model-independent methods, including Approximate Entropy and CLUSTER analysis, compared sleep patterns and length growth.

Main Results:

  • Saltatory length growth was associated with increased daily sleep hours and number of sleep bouts (P < 0.001).
  • Peaks in sleep (e.g., 4.5 more hours/day, 3 more naps/day) were concordant with saltatory length growth within 0-4 days.
  • Increased sleep bout duration predicted weight and adiposity accrual, contingent on length growth.

Conclusions:

  • Sleep and length growth are temporally related biological processes, indicating an integrated anabolic system.
  • Infant behavioral state changes, particularly sleep patterns, may reflect biological mechanisms controlling human growth.
Abstract

Keywords:
Sleep regulationbiological rhythmssaltationssaltatory growth

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