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Sleep problems reduced from 6 to 24 months of age with no evidence of links between disturbed sleep and later

Lisbeth Valla1,2, Tore Wentzel-Larsen1,3, Kari Slinning1

  • 1Regional Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway (RBUP), Oslo, Norway.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|February 25, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Infant sleep problems decrease with age, with prevalence dropping from 14.6% at 6 months to 3.3% at 24 months. Early sleep issues did not show clear links to later developmental delays.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric sleep science
  • Infant development research
  • Child psychology

Background:

  • Sleep is crucial for healthy infant development.
  • Sleep problems are common in infancy.
  • Understanding the long-term impact of infant sleep issues is important.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of infant sleep problems at 6, 12, and 24 months.
  • To investigate the relationship between infant sleep problems and developmental outcomes.
  • To assess if sleep problems at 6 months predict changes in development over time.

Main Methods:

  • A parent-reported sleep questionnaire was used to identify sleep problems.
  • The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) measured developmental skills.
  • 1555 infants from Norwegian well-baby clinics participated; data analyzed using t-tests and linear mixed-effects models.

Main Results:

  • Prevalence of sleep problems decreased with infant age: 14.6% at 6 months, 7.4% at 12 months, and 3.3% at 24 months.
  • No significant differences in overall developmental scores (ASQ) were found between infants with and without sleep problems.
  • Infants with sleep problems showed faster increases in communication and problem-solving skills.

Conclusions:

  • Infant sleep problem prevalence declines significantly from 6 to 24 months.
  • Early sleep disturbances do not appear to be clearly linked to later developmental problems.
  • Specific developmental areas like communication and problem-solving may show accelerated growth in infants experiencing sleep issues.
Abstract

Keywords:
ages and stages questionnairedevelopmentsleep

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