Bedtime routines and objectively assessed sleep in infants

Factors Related to the Sleep Duration of 3-Month-Old Infants

Objective  To identify the factors related to sleep duration in 3-month-old infants. Materials and Methods  From 2021 to 2023, we conducted a cross-sectional study in the city of Araraquara, Brazil, involving 140 mothers and their respective 3-month-old infants. Maternal socioeconomic, demographic, obstetric, and nutritional characteristics, as well as nutritional and morbidity characteristics of the respective infants, were evaluated. Sleep duration was determined by the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ). Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to assess the associations of maternal, newborn, and infant factors with sleep duration at three months. Results  The nighttime sleep duration of the infants was of 9 hours. There were negative associations between nighttime sleep duration and prone sleep position ( p  = 0.011), falling asleep between 8:30 pm and 11:00 pm ( p  = 0.032), falling asleep after 11:00 pm ( p  < 0.001), respiratory infection ( p  = 0.011), dermatitis ( p  = 0.002), and the presence of children under 9 years of age in the household ( p  = 0.013). Discussion  In the present study, factors such as infant morbidity, the presence of other children in the household, and sleeping habits were associated with a decrease in sleep duration in 3-month-old infants. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of early diagnosis of morbidity in the first months of life and of promoting healthy habits such as regulating the time to go to sleep, providing an adequate sleep environment, and other practices that help improve the quality and duration of sleep.

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

The identification of optimal sleep duration recommendations for the general population has long been an important goal on the public health agenda, as both short and long sleep duration have been linked to unfavourable health outcomes. Yet, sleep is more than duration alone and can be described across multiple domains, such as timing, regularity, satisfaction, alertness, and efficiency. We reviewed observational population‐based studies that examined differences in age, sex, and origin across multiple dimensions of sleep. Reviewed literature suggests an increasing prevalence of insomnia symptoms, shorter and less deep sleep in old age. Overall, women report poorer sleep quality than men despite objective measures revealing shorter and more fragmented sleep in men. Minorities generally have poorer quantity and quality of sleep, but multi‐ethnic studies have reported mixed results regarding the subjective experience of sleep. In sum, effects of age, sex and origin differ across sleep dimensions, thereby suggesting that the multidimensionality of sleep and how these different aspects interact should be studied across individuals. Studies should include both self‐reported measures and objective assessments in diverse population‐based samples, as both aspects are important to understand sleep health in the general population. Data‐driven descriptions could provide researchers and clinicians with insights into how well individuals are sleeping and offer concrete targets for promotion of sleep health across the population.