Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
06:34

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations

Published on: July 1, 2015

16.8K

Sleep and Sensory Processing in Infants and Toddlers: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study

Katie Appleyard1, Elizabeth Schaughency2, Barry Taylor3

  • 1Katie Appleyard, PhD, is Assistant Research Fellow, Department of Women's and Children's Health and Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy : Official Publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association
|December 4, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Sleep difficulties in toddlers are linked to sensory processing challenges, potentially emerging in infancy. Addressing sensory sensitivities may help improve sleep onset for sensitive children.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Sensory Processing Research

Background:

  • Children with sensory sensitivities often experience sleep difficulties.
  • The emergence and prevalence of these sleep issues in the general population are not well-understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the relationship between sleep patterns and sensory processing in typically developing infants and toddlers.
  • To investigate both cross-sectional and longitudinal connections.

Main Methods:

  • An observational study involving 160 children from a larger trial.
  • Parent-reported sleep data collected at 6 months, 1, 2, and 2.5 years.
  • Sensory Processing Measure-Preschool questionnaire administered at 2.5 years; analyzed using multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

  • Problematic sleep at 2.5 years correlated with social-relational skill deficits.
  • Longer sleep onset times were associated with heightened visual and tactile sensitivities at 2.5 years.
  • Longitudinal data indicated a link between longer sleep onset times and sensitive hearing from 6 months to 2.5 years.

Conclusions:

  • A connection exists between sleep patterns and sensory processing issues in toddlers, which may begin in infancy.
  • Healthcare providers should consider sensory processing when evaluating sleep problems in young children.
  • Managing visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli may aid sleep onset for sensitive children.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities09:38

Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities

Published on: January 29, 2014

11.1K
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

8.8K

Related Concept Videos

Information Processing Approach01:30

Information Processing Approach

The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is...
321
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development01:14

Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development

The sensorimotor stage, the initial phase of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spans the first two years of a child's life. During this period, infants actively engage with their surroundings, building cognitive awareness through direct interaction with the world. This interaction is primarily based on sensory perception and motor actions, allowing infants to gradually understand basic physical properties and predict how objects interact within their environment.
Exploration...
1.2K
The Nativist Approach01:21

The Nativist Approach

The nativist approach to infant cognitive development proposes that infants are born with inherent knowledge structures that allow them to interpret the world almost immediately. This perspective contrasts with earlier developmental theories, such as those proposed by Jean Piaget, which emphasized a more gradual acquisition of cognitive abilities through interaction with the environment. One key concept in this approach is object permanence — the understanding that objects continue to...
263
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
263
Longitudinal Research02:20

Longitudinal Research

Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...
12.9K