Bedtime routines and objectively assessed sleep in infants

Abstract

Sleep is essential for healthy growth and development that impact multiple domains of outcomes for infancy and early childhood

The multidimensionality of sleep in population‐based samples: a narrative review

“…Objective estimations of sleep duration and efficiency are generally lower than indications by subjective measures, but both reveal patterns of shorter and more fragmented sleep with increasing age across the lifespan (Evans et al, 2021; Kocevska et al, 2021; Ohayon et al, 2004). At 6 months of age, the average daily sleep duration in infants has been estimated at 11 h by actigraphy, of which ~25% is obtained through multiple daytime naps (Tsai et al, 2022). In the first 3 years of life, daytime sleep duration rapidly decreases and is replaced for longer, more consolidated night‐time sleep (Galland et al, 2012).…”

Poor sleep health in early childhood is a social justice issue: A call to action

“…Moreover, poor child sleep directly correlates with poor parent sleep, having a cascading negative effect on parents’ physical and mental health, sensitive parenting abilities and parental self‐efficacy (Covington et al, 2022; Tsai et al, 2018; Zaidman‐Zait & Hall, 2015). Early childhood is a foundational time in the life course where parents help establish sleep and other childhood health habits (Tsai et al, 2022). Indeed, development of poor sleep habits often persist into adolescence and even adulthood, contributing to long‐term physical and mental health problems (McVeigh et al, 2021; Ordway et al, 2022).…”

“…Helping families address socio-ecological barriers to sleep health will have immediate health and well-being benefits and long-term, may be a mechanism for combatting health disparities (Hale et al, 2020). (Gustafsson et al, 2016;Tsai et al, 2018Tsai et al, , 2022Zaidman-Zait & Hall, 2015).…”

“…Simultaneously, I encourage JAN to respond to the critical need for a stronger evidence base through publishing ground‐breaking work in sleep health disparities, which is currently absent from the journal. Since 2015, JAN has only published four articles focused on early childhood sleep, none of which were conducted among disadvantaged groups and therefore underestimates the global phenomenon of sleep health disparities (Gustafsson et al, 2016; Tsai et al, 2018, 2022; Zaidman‐Zait & Hall, 2015).…”

“…Necessary policy‐level changes include equal access to paid family leave and flexible schedules on return to work. During the first 6 months to a year of life, it is normal for infants to have multiple nighttime awakenings and require parental intervention to return to sleep, ultimately resulting in inadequate parent sleep (Teti et al, 2010; Tsai et al, 2018, 2022). Paid family leave and flexible work schedules will decrease family stress and enable parents to prioritize sleep and rest for their baby and themselves.…”