Related Experiment Videos
Infant-parent co-sleeping in an evolutionary perspective: implications for understanding infant sleep development and
J J McKenna1, E B Thoman, T F Anders
1Pomona College, Claremont, California 91711.
Insights
Infant-parent co-sleeping may be the natural sleep pattern for humans, potentially improving infant sleep and reducing sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) risk. This framework assesses co-sleeping versus solitary sleeping impacts.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Developmental psychology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Human infant sleep physiology may have evolved within a co-sleeping context.
- Cross-cultural and cross-species data suggest co-sleeping is a common pattern.
- Concerns exist regarding infant sleep environments and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the hypothesis that infant-parent co-sleeping promotes optimal infant sleep patterning.
- To explore potential benefits of co-sleeping, including SIDS risk reduction.
- To develop a conceptual framework for comparing co-sleeping and solitary sleeping.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of evolutionary data.
- Cross-species sleep pattern comparisons.
- Cross-cultural infant sleep practice review.
- Examination of physiological and behavioral data.
Main Results:
- Co-sleeping aligns with evolved human infant physiology.
- The co-sleeping environment may support healthier sleep development.
- Co-sleeping is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS.
Conclusions:
- Infant-parent co-sleeping is a biologically relevant sleep arrangement.
- Solitary sleeping may have negative developmental consequences compared to co-sleeping.
- Further research is warranted to fully understand the benefits of co-sleeping.
Abstract:
Evidence suggests that infant-parent co-sleeping represents the species-wide pattern of sleep in which human infant physiology evolved. The hypothesis evaluated in this manuscript is that the co-sleeping environment may foster development of optimal sleep patterning in infants and confer other benefits, including reducing the risk of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). These postulations by McKenna are considered from different perspectives by the coauthors. Using evolutionary, cross-species, crosscultural, physiological and behavioral data, our objective was to present a conceptual framework for assessing the developmental consequences of solitary sleeping and infant-parent co-sleeping.