Study is the first to link sleep duration to infant growth spurts
Results provide the first documentation that infant growth in body length is concordant with changes in sleep
2011-05-01
(Press-News.org) DARIEN, Ill. – A study in the May 1 issue of the journal Sleep is the first to show that increased bursts of sleep among infants are significantly associated with growth spurts in body length.
Results show that infants had irregular bursts of sleep, with 24-hour sleep duration increasing at irregular intervals by an average of 4.5 hours per day for two days. The number of sleep episodes per day also increased in intermittent bursts of an average of three extra naps per day for two days. These peaks in total daily sleep duration and number of sleep episodes were significantly associated with measurable growth spurts in body length, which tended to occur within 48 hours of the recorded bursts of sleep. Further analysis found that the probability of a growth spurt increased by a median of 43 percent for each additional sleep episode and 20 percent for each additional hour of sleep.
"The results demonstrate empirically that growth spurts not only occur during sleep but are significantly influenced by sleep," said principal investigator and lead author Dr. Michelle Lampl, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the department of anthropology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. "Longer sleep corresponds with greater growth in body length."
Lampl added that the results may be particularly helpful for parents, who can become easily frustrated by the variability and unpredictability of an infant's sleep patterns.
"On a practical, everyday level, it helps parents understand their infant's behavior and patterns," she said.
The study involved 23 parents who consistently recorded daily sleep records for their infant, providing 5,798 daily records for analysis. The median age of the 14 girls and nine boys at study onset was 12 days. All infants were healthy at birth and free of colic or medical complications during their first year. For a duration ranging from four to 17 continuous months, growth in total body length was assessed using the maximum stretch technique, which was performed semi-weekly for 18 infants, daily for three infants and weekly for two infants.
According to Lampl and co-author Michael Johnson, PhD, professor of pharmacology in the University of Virginia Health System, the exact nature of the relationship between sleep biology and bone growth is unclear. However, they noted that the secretion of growth hormone is known to increase after sleep onset and during the stage of slow wave sleep. This change in hormonal signals during sleep could stimulate bone growth, which would support anecdotal reports of "growing pains," the aching limbs that can wake children at night.
Although a statistically significant relationship between bursts of sleep and growth spurts was found in all infants, the correspondence was imperfect. Some sleep alterations occurred without a growth spurt, and not every growth spurt was preceded by a burst of sleep.
Lampl and Johnson speculate that in some cases growth may have occurred in other parts of the body. For example, another new study they are publishing this month found that infant head circumference grows in intermittent, episodic spurts. They also suggest that sleep may be only one component of an integrated, physiological system that underlies growth timing.
The study is also significant, added Lampl, because it adds a novel finding to the interdisciplinary, multi-faceted body of research targeted at answering the question, "Why do we sleep?"
"It opens another door to understanding why we sleep," she said. "We now know that sleep is a contributing factor to growth spurts at the biological level."
###
Data collection was supported by the Developmental Psychobiology Research Group and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
Learn more about sleep and infants from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the Sleep Education Blog at http://sleepeducation.blogspot.com/search/label/infants. Get Sleep Tips for New Parents from the AASM at http://www.sleepeducation.com/Topic.aspx?id=91.
The monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal Sleep is published online by the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. The AASM is a professional membership society that is the leader in setting standards and promoting excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (www.aasmnet.org).
For a copy of the study, "Infant growth in length follows prolonged sleep and increased naps," or to arrange an interview with an AASM spokesperson, please contact Public Relations Coordinator Emilee McStay at 630-737-9700, ext. 9345, or emcstay@aasmnet.org.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-05-01
DENVER –- Giving poor families land on which to grow crops has been shown to improve child nutrition. New research also shows that giving families non-agricultural land and better housing also is beneficial for children's growth and nutrition.
Results of the study of child malnutrition in rural Guatemala will be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
Guatemala's rural populations suffer from one of the most unequal land distributions in Latin America. About 2 percent of the population owns 70 percent of all productive ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – It is absolutely unacceptable to subject children to any tobacco smoke exposure in cars, according to the authors of an abstract to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
"An infant strapped into a car seat is involuntarily and intensely exposed to more than 400 toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke," said abstract co-author Jonathan P. Winickoff, MD, MPH, FAAP. "They have no voice and no choice in whether their parents smoke in the car."
Dr. Winickoff and his colleagues conducted the analyses to determine ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – A scale used to assess the behavior of newborns exposed to methamphetamine before birth might be able to identify those children who will develop problems later on, according to a study that will be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
A large body of research shows that prenatal exposure to cocaine can lead to cognitive and behavioral problems in children. Recently, methamphetamine has become the drug of choice for many pregnant drug users, according to study co-author Barry M. Lester, PhD. Despite its ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – When schools cut physical education programs so students can spend more time in the classroom, they may be missing a golden opportunity to promote learning, according to research to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
The study adds to growing evidence that exercise is good not only for the body but also the mind. It also shows that physical education and academic instruction need not be mutually exclusive.
Researchers Kathryn L. King, MD, and Carly J. Scahill, DO, pediatric residents at the Medical ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – If a pregnant woman is exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), especially during the first trimester, her child may be at higher risk of wheezing early in life, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
BPA is a chemical that has been used for more than 40 years in the manufacture of many hard plastic food containers and the lining of metal food and beverage cans. Trace amounts of BPA can be found in some foods packaged in these containers, and the chemical is detectable in over 90 percent ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – It's tough to keep kids safe when you're traveling by car. First, you need to install a car seat, which many parents can attest is no easy feat. Then you have to get the child, who may be writhing and squirming, restrained in the seat. Mission accomplished? Don't count on it.
New research to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver reveals another potential roadblock to child passenger safety: youngsters unbuckling themselves while the vehicle is moving.
Restraining children inappropriately in a vehicle ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – Pregnant women who are obese are less able to fight infections than lean women, which could affect their baby's health after birth and later in life, according to research to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
"Women who are obese before pregnancy have critical differences in their immune function during pregnancy compared to normal weight women, which has negative consequences for both mother and baby," said Sarbattama Sen, MD, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Mother Infant Research ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – With all of the media attention on young people being tormented by bullies and cyberbullies, parents may wonder what they can do to protect their children. The question they may want to ask instead is how can they prevent their child from becoming a bully.
New research to be presented on Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver shows that parents can play a key role in decreasing the chances that their son or daughter will harass or intimidate other children.
Researchers, led by Rashmi Shetgiri, MD, FAAP, examined the ...
2011-05-01
DENVER – Extremely premature infants who screen positive for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 18 months of age may not actually have autism. Rather, they may fail screening tests due to an unrelated cognitive or language delay, according to research to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver.
An estimated one in 110 U.S. children has ASD, a group of complex developmental brain disorders that affect behavior, social skills and communication. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that pediatricians screen ...
2011-05-01
VIDEO:
Exposure to secondhand smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with increased blood pressure in boys, according to new research being presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic...
Click here for more information.
DENVER – Exposure to secondhand smoke, even at extremely low levels, is associated with increased blood pressure in boys, according to new research being presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Study is the first to link sleep duration to infant growth spurts
Results provide the first documentation that infant growth in body length is concordant with changes in sleep