If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.
A new paper by Professor Michal Kahn, ‘Does your baby have a sleep problem?’ analyzed parent-reported correlates of perceived infant sleep problems. I asked her questions about the bedtime and she graciously answered them. Here are her results from the study data that were not part of the paper.
∙ A later bedtime is significantly associated with more infant awakenings.
This is true for parents both in the ‘Perceived Sleep Problem’ group and the ‘No Perceived Sleep Problem Group’.
This is true for infants 1-6 months, 7-12 months, and 13-18 months.
∙ A later bedtime is significantly associated with infant age, with younger infants having later bedtimes (and more nighttime awakenings and parent visits).
∙ An earlier bedtime occurred in the ‘ No Perceived Sleep Problem’ group compared to the ‘Perceived Sleep Problem Group’, and the difference was only 10 minutes!
∙ A later wake-up time occurred in the ‘No Perceived Sleep Problem Group’ compared to the ‘Perceived Sleep Problem Group’, and the difference was 14 minutes.
Additionally, from the paper:
∙ Fewer parent nighttime crib visits occurred in the ‘No Perceived Sleep Problem’ group compared to the ‘Perceived Sleep Problem’ group.
∙ Longer nighttime sleep durations occurred in the “No Perceived Sleep Problem’ group compared to the ‘Perceived Sleep Problem’ group.
Take away points:
∙ If you want your infant to sleep in later in the morning, move the bedtime earlier! This in not logical, it’s biological. Earlier bedtimes reduce or eliminate pre-sleep arousal. Sleep begets sleep.
∙ If you want fewer night awakenings and fewer nighttime crib visits, move the bedtime earlier. No pre-sleep arousal permits more consolidated night sleep.
∙ If you want your infant to have a longer nighttime sleep duration, move the bedtime earlier. Earlier bedtimes may be associated with later wake-up times in the morning.
Blog Post 228C describes other studies showing that just a little more sleep, even as little as only 2.5, 7, or 10 more minutes, has clinical benefits for children!
Blog Post 233B describe how frequent night awakenings at 6 month had a higher risk of nonoptimal gross motor development. I asked the lead author about the bedtime: “Consistently, we observed that late bedtimes are significantly associated with an increase in frequency of night awakenings.”
IF YOUR INFANT HAS A SLEEP ISSUE, MOVE THE BEDTIME EARLIER
