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For Babies, More Nighttime Sleep, More Daytime Smarts
Nighttime zzz's, daytime smarts
An article in the November/December issue of Child Development shows a connection between nighttime sleep for babies and their skill at certain tests of cognitive function.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Montreal tracked the sleep patterns of toddlers. At 12 and 18 months, they asked parents to keep a diary of the baby’s sleep habits at 30-minute intervals around the clock (logging naps and night wakings). At 18 and 26 months, they gave the little subjects some baby brain challenges.
Here’s what they found when it comes to sleep and smarts:
The ones who slept more during the night (between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.) did better on the tests than those who might have had the same amount of total sleep, but got a greater percentage of it during the day. In other words, nighttime sleep was more critical than naps. The researchers say the longer the nighttime stretch, the better the results.
The babies did tests of “executive function” which is the ability to hold information in working memory, control impulses, and make thought-out decisions (at 2 years old this is of course a work in progress). For example, in one test a researcher put a sticker in one of three pots, covered them with a blanket, and then asked the toddler to choose which contained the sticker.
Granted, this is a small study, but it resonates with earlier findings that sleep has a big impact on our executive functioning during the day — our ability to retain and work with information, and make sense of our surroundings. Same goes for babies.
I think it’s interesting that the total amount of sleep didn’t matter as much as the stretch of nighttime sleep that the babies had. If it holds up to further scrutiny, it means that catching up on nighttime sleep with a big long nap doesn’t quite add up. Nighttime sleep and naps are managed by different brain circuits and circadian rhythms, so it makes sense that it doesn’t just all go into one account — you can’t just transfer hours from your daytime to nighttime account.
Remember, though, all babies wake up during the night (just like most of us do). Some just know how to put themselves back to sleep. This is an argument for keeping to early bedtimes so that our little ones are getting their nighttime dose of zzz’s.
Image: Everystockphoto/Spigoo
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6 Comments
[...] on Strollerderby, this post appeared on how babies who sleep well are smarter. Being someone who has been through [...]
Sleep Equals Smart? | Babys First Year Blog commented on Nov 19 10 at 2:52 amJoy commented on Nov 17 10 at 2:35 pmThe research doesn’t demonstrate causation. It may be that babies who are more cognitively advanced with better executive function skills are better able to regulate their night sleep.
More careful reporting would be appreciated.
heatherturgeon commented on Nov 17 10 at 11:04 pmJoy: you’re right, it shows a correlation. But this is just the latest in many studies that show a strong connection between sleep and cognitive function. We see it with adults and teens, so it’s interesting to consider the impact on babies, too.
Rosana commented on Nov 18 10 at 9:29 amTell me about it. I am not the same since I had kids. My son did not sleep thru the night until he was 14 months old and my daughter sleeps even less than my son did before he was a toddler. Needless to say, I am useless between the hours of 5 and 8:30am.
When I was in college, I could stay up until 1 or 2 am and wake up fresh by 6am to start my day but that was 4 or 5 solid hours, not the 6 interrupted hours I sleep now :(
Naomi commented on Nov 18 10 at 2:47 pmHere’s the thing about studies like these. For some of us, we have no control over our child’s sleep habits no matter how much we try. Reading this makes moms of poor sleeping babies extremely anxious about them not meeting milestones or not being as smart as babies who sleep well. My son was a terrible sleeper. He still wakes up once or twice a night. I read sleep book after sleep book and tried thousands of techniques. He has never once slept 12 hours. Not once. Meanwhile, heis a lot more advanced than many of his sleepy baby compadres. He would’ve been able to that sticker test with no problems whatsoever. I still worry that he doesn’t sleep enough, but now I know that might just be who he is. He’s too busy thinking to sleep.
Lisa commented on Dec 22 10 at 10:27 amNaomi I agree. My son never slept and I tried EVERYTHING. He’s now on the gifted and talented register where a lot of mums also found as a toddler their child was too busy to sleep. My second son slept a lot better and is not as bright academically so am not buying into this study.
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