The findings revealed that infants had uneven bursts of sleep, with the amount of sleep over a 24-hour period increasing at irregular intervals by an average of 4.5 hours per day for two days.
Increased bursts of sleep in infants are linked with growth spurts.
Little is known about the biology of growth spurts or the mechanisms and pathways that underlie episodic growth in babies. Findings from the first study of its kind measuring the link between daily growth and sleep show the two could be linked. Growth spurts are tied to an increase in total daily hours of sleep as well as an increase in the number of daily sleep bouts, the time from the onset of sleep until awakening.
Researchers from Atlanta studied the link between daily growth and sleep. The study included 23 parents who kept daily sleep records for their infants (14 girls, nine boys), who were 12 days old at the start of the study, over a four- to 17-month span. Mothers kept daily diaries detailing sleep onset and awakening and noted whether babies were breastfeeding, formula feeding, or both and whether their infant showed signs of illness, such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever or rash. The researchers analyzed the total of 5,798 daily sleep records and also tracked the infants' growth.
The findings revealed that infants had uneven bursts of sleep, with the amount of sleep over a 24-hour period increasing at irregular intervals by an average of 4.5 hours per day for two days. In addition, the infants' number of sleep episodes per day also increased in intermittent surges of an average of three extra naps per day for two days. There was a significant association between these increases in sleep and growth spurts in body length, which tended to occur within 48 hours of the sleep bursts. The researchers determined that the likelihood of a growth spurt increased by about 43 percent for each additional sleep episode and by 20 percent for each extra hour of sleep.
The researchers also found that longer sleep bouts in both girls and boys predicted an increase in weight and body-fat composition tied to an increase in length. In other words, not only does sleep predict a growth spurt in length, but it also predicts an increase in weight and abdominal fat, implying growth. What's more, the study showed differences in sleep patterns related to growth depending on the sex of the baby. Growth spurts were associated with increased sleep bout duration in boys compared with girls and increased number of sleep bouts in girls compared with boys. In general, boys in the study exhibited more sleep bouts and shorter sleep bouts than girls. But neither the sex of the infant nor breastfeeding had significant effects on total daily sleep time. However, breastfeeding as opposed to formula feeding was associated with more and shorter sleep bouts.
The results demonstrate that growth spurts not only occur during sleep but are significantly influenced by sleep. Longer sleep corresponds with greater growth in body length. The nature of the link between increased sleep and growth in infants isn't clear, but it is known that the secretion of growth hormone increases during sleep.
The findings may be helpful for parents, who can become frustrated by the variability and unpredictability of an infant's sleep patterns. It helps parents understand them and show that seemingly erratic sleep behavior is a normal part of development, the researchers concluded.
Little is known about the biology of growth spurts or the mechanisms and pathways that underlie episodic growth in babies. Findings from the first study of its kind measuring the link between daily growth and sleep show the two could be linked. Growth spurts are tied to an increase in total daily hours of sleep as well as an increase in the number of daily sleep bouts, the time from the onset of sleep until awakening.
Researchers from Atlanta studied the link between daily growth and sleep. The study included 23 parents who kept daily sleep records for their infants (14 girls, nine boys), who were 12 days old at the start of the study, over a four- to 17-month span. Mothers kept daily diaries detailing sleep onset and awakening and noted whether babies were breastfeeding, formula feeding, or both and whether their infant showed signs of illness, such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever or rash. The researchers analyzed the total of 5,798 daily sleep records and also tracked the infants' growth.
The findings revealed that infants had uneven bursts of sleep, with the amount of sleep over a 24-hour period increasing at irregular intervals by an average of 4.5 hours per day for two days. In addition, the infants' number of sleep episodes per day also increased in intermittent surges of an average of three extra naps per day for two days. There was a significant association between these increases in sleep and growth spurts in body length, which tended to occur within 48 hours of the sleep bursts. The researchers determined that the likelihood of a growth spurt increased by about 43 percent for each additional sleep episode and by 20 percent for each extra hour of sleep.
The researchers also found that longer sleep bouts in both girls and boys predicted an increase in weight and body-fat composition tied to an increase in length. In other words, not only does sleep predict a growth spurt in length, but it also predicts an increase in weight and abdominal fat, implying growth. What's more, the study showed differences in sleep patterns related to growth depending on the sex of the baby. Growth spurts were associated with increased sleep bout duration in boys compared with girls and increased number of sleep bouts in girls compared with boys. In general, boys in the study exhibited more sleep bouts and shorter sleep bouts than girls. But neither the sex of the infant nor breastfeeding had significant effects on total daily sleep time. However, breastfeeding as opposed to formula feeding was associated with more and shorter sleep bouts.
The results demonstrate that growth spurts not only occur during sleep but are significantly influenced by sleep. Longer sleep corresponds with greater growth in body length. The nature of the link between increased sleep and growth in infants isn't clear, but it is known that the secretion of growth hormone increases during sleep.
The findings may be helpful for parents, who can become frustrated by the variability and unpredictability of an infant's sleep patterns. It helps parents understand them and show that seemingly erratic sleep behavior is a normal part of development, the researchers concluded.
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