Sleepless on the road: Are mothers of infants with insomnia at risk for impaired driving?

Infant sleep problems have been associated with a myriad of adverse child and parent outcomes, yet whether these problems may pose a risk for parents on the road has received little research attention. This study sought to test whether mothers of infants with insomnia are at an elevated risk for vehicular crashes, by comparing their objectively measured driving performance with that of mothers of well-sleeping infants and with that of women without children. Fifty-four women from these three groups completed a simulated driving task. Outcome measures included standard deviation of lateral position, number of lane crossings, standard deviation of speed, average speed and maximum speed. Women additionally reported on their driving behaviour using the Driving Behaviour Questionnaire, and on sleep, sleepiness and insomnia symptoms using 7-day sleep diaries and questionnaires. Mothers of infants with insomnia demonstrated greater lane deviation (Wald = 9.53, p = 0.009), higher maximum speed (Wald = 6.10, p = 0.04) and poorer self-rated driving behaviour (Wald = 7.44, p = 0.02) compared with control groups. Analyses also indicated that driving performance in mothers of infants with insomnia tended to be poorer relative to control groups with the progression of time on task. While further research is needed to assess the scope of these effects, our findings suggest that parents, healthcare providers and policymakers should be aware of the potential consequences of infant sleep problems on road safety, and collaborate to establish strategies to mitigate these risks.

Development of evening sleep homeostatic pressure in early adolescent boys

The physiological processes governing sleep regulation show maturational changes during adolescent development. To date, data are available to specify when delays in circadian timing occur; however, no longitudinal data exist to characterize the maturation of the accumulation of sleep pressure across the evening. The aim of this longitudinal study was to test whether this change in evening sleep propensity can be identified during early adolescence. Twenty pre-pubescent boys' (Mage = 10.3, SD = 0.4 years) evening sleep homeostats were assessed using a series of sleep latency tests every hour (7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.) at 6-month intervals across four waves. While results revealed shorter sleep onset latencies with increasing wakefulness (p < .001), this effect was not moderated by study wave (p = .79). Evening sleep propensity thus appears to remain stable in boys during early adolescence. Future studies should expand upon these findings by using larger samples of girls as well as boys across an extended age range during the teenage years.

Can cry tolerance be increased in mothers of infants with sleep problems, and why does it matter? A quasi-experimental study

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Infant sleep problems are one of the most common complaints of new parents. Research to date has demonstrated a relationship between low parental cry tolerance and infant sleep problems. The aim of this study was to explore whether three emotion regulation strategies could increase parental cry tolerance.

METHODS

This study utilised a quasi-experimental design. We recruited 83 females (Mage= 32, SD= 5.26) comprising 3 groups: mothers of good sleeping infants aged 6-24 months, mothers of poor sleeping infants aged 6-24 months, and good sleeping women aged 23-40 years without children. Participants were instructed to listen to crying audio segments and indicate when they felt the child needed to be tended to (measured in seconds). This crying audio was paired with one of three emotion-regulation strategies (i.e., music, gaming, reappraisal). Each participant completed all 4 cry conditions which were counterbalanced to control for order effects.

RESULTS

We found that all three strategies yielded significantly longer reaction times (indicating higher cry tolerance) compared to the control condition (p <.001). We also found that mothers of poor sleepers and good sleeping women benefitted from all three emotion regulation strategies compared to control (p <.001 and p= <.05, respectively). The cry tolerance of mothers of good sleepers, on the other hand, did not differ between the control condition and any of the strategies (all ps >.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This demonstrates that cry tolerance can be increased using emotion regulation strategies, such as distraction via music or gaming, and reappraisal. This has clinical implications for families implementing behavioural sleep interventions.

Technology use as a sleep-onset aid: are adolescents using apps to distract themselves from negative thoughts?

Study Objectives

The aim of this study was to; (1) explore whether adolescents use technology as distraction from negative thoughts before sleep, (2) assess whether adolescents who perceive having a sleep problem use technology as distraction more compared to adolescents without sleep complaints, and (3) collect qualitative information about which devices and apps adolescents use as a distraction.

Methods

This study used a mixed-methods cross-sectional design, where 684 adolescents (M = 15.1, SD = 1.2, 46% female) answered both quantitative and qualitative questions about their sleep (perceived sleep problem, sleep onset time (SOT), and sleep onset latency [SOL]) and technology use as distraction from negative thoughts.

Results

The majority of adolescents answered "yes" or "sometimes" using technology as a distraction from negative thoughts (23.6% and 38.4%). Adolescents who answered "yes" to using technology as distraction were more likely to report having a sleep problem, longer SOL, and later SOT, compared to adolescents who answered "no". The most popular device to distract was the phone, because of its availability, and the most common apps used for distraction included YouTube, Snapchat, and music apps.

Conclusions

This study shows that many adolescents use technology to distract themselves from negative thoughts, which may help them manage the sleep-onset process. Thus, distraction may be one mechanism explaining how sleep affects technology use, rather than vice versa.

What's "app"-ning to adolescent sleep? Links between device, app use, and sleep outcomes

This study investigated the associations between adolescent evening use of technology devices and apps, night time sleep, and daytime sleepiness. Participants were 711 adolescents aged 12-18 years old (46% Female, M_age = 15.1, SD = 1.2). Time spent using technology devices and apps in the hour before bed, and in bed before sleep onset, was self-reported. Participants additionally completed a questionnaire about their sleep on school nights and next day sleepiness. In the hour before bed, 30 min of phone use was associated with a 9-min delay in bedtimes. Thirty minutes spent using laptops, gaming consoles, and watching YouTube was associated with later lights out times of 9 min, ∼16 min and ∼11 min respectively, while watching TV was associated with a 9 min earlier lights out times. Using gaming consoles and watching YouTube were associated with greater odds of receiving insufficient sleep (≤7 h TST). In bed before sleep onset, 30 min spent using laptops, phones, iPad/tablets, and watching YouTube were linked with later lights out times of ∼7 min for phones and laptops, 9 min for iPad/tablets, and ∼13 min for YouTube. Watching Netflix was associated with greater daytime sleepiness. YouTube at this time point was associated with increased odds of sleeping ≤7 h on school nights. Adolescents are engaging with a wide range of technology devices and apps in the evenings. However, certain devices and apps (e.g., phones, laptops, gaming and YouTube) might lead to more negative sleep outcomes for adolescents on school nights compared to others.

Wi-Fi off, devices out: do parent-set technology rules play a role in adolescent sleep?

There is limited evidence surrounding the relationship between parent-set technology rules and adolescent sleep. This study had two aims: 1) to investigate the relationship between presence of and compliance to parent-set technology rules and adolescent sleep outcomes and daytime sleepiness; 2) to investigate if compliance, non-compliance, or the absence of rules could moderate the relationship between Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and Bedtime Procrastination (BtP) on sleep outcomes and daytime sleepiness. A total of 711 adolescents aged 12–18 years old (46% Female, M_age = 15.1, SD = 1.2) were recruited through secondary schools in South Australia. Participants completed a survey containing self-report measures about their sleep, daytime sleepiness, FoMO, BtP, the presence/absence of technology rules in their house, and their compliance to these rules. The study design was cross sectional. Results indicated that the presence of a parent-set technology rule was associated with earlier bedtimes regardless of compliance. Earlier lights out times and increased sleep duration were observed in adolescents who always complied to their rules compared to those who did not comply or did not have parent-set technology rules. BtP and FoMO were associated with later bedtimes, later lights out times, longer sleep onset latency, shorter sleep duration, and more daytime sleepiness. However, parent-set rules did not moderate the links between BtP/FoMO and adolescent sleep. Whilst longitudinal investigations are warranted to examine the directionality of these relationships, the present study suggests that parent-set technology rules may play an important role in protecting adolescent sleep.

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Having a parent set technology rule was associated with earlier bedtimes.

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Only consistent compliance was linked to earlier lights out times and longer TST.

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Noncompliance or the absence of rules was not linked to these sleep outcomes.

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Bedtime procrastination and Fear of Missing Out were linked with poorer sleep outcomes.

A randomised controlled dismantling trial of sleep restriction therapies for chronic insomnia disorder in middle childhood: effects on sleep and anxiety, and possible contraindications

Sleep restriction therapies likely drive improvement in insomnia in middle childhood via increases in homeostatic sleep pressure (e.g., evening sleepiness). Increased evening sleepiness may also dampen comorbid anxiety symptoms; and reduced wakefulness in bed may reduce worry. However, sleep restriction therapies have never been evaluated as a standalone intervention in this population. The mechanism of action needs testing, as do effects on anxiety, and cognitive performance and parasomnias (possible contraindications). This randomised controlled trial evaluated the efficacy of two "doses" of sleep restriction therapy (sleep restriction therapy, bedtime restriction therapy), compared to a control condition (time in bed regularisation). A total of 61 children (mean [SD, range] age 9.1 [2.1, 6-14] years; 54% female) with chronic insomnia disorder received two weekly 60-min treatment sessions with a psychologist. Sleep, sleepiness, anxiety, worry, cognitive performance, and parasomnias were measured pre-treatment, across treatment, and at 4-weeks post-treatment. Both the sleep and bedtime restriction groups experienced reductions in total sleep time (d = 1.38-2.27) and increases in evening sleepiness (d = 1.01-1.47) during the 2-week treatment, and improvements in insomnia (i.e., sleep onset latency; d = 1.10-1.21), relative to the control group. All groups reported improved anxiety and worry, yet there were no differences between the control and restriction groups (all p > 0.658). Time in bed increased at the 1-month follow-up, and benefits to sleep and insomnia were maintained. There were no adverse effects on cognitive functioning (all p > 0.259), nor parasomnia occurrence (all p > 0.740). These results suggest that sleep restriction therapies are brief, yet effective, standalone interventions for insomnia in middle childhood, and improvements are likely due to increased sleepiness, not sleep regularisation.

Parents matter: barriers and solutions when implementing behavioural sleep interventions for infant sleep problems

Behavioural sleep interventions (eg, extinction-based methods) are among the most efficacious evidence-based techniques in the treatment of infant sleep problems. However, behavioural sleep interventions can be challenging for families to successfully implement. This review aims to summarise current research surrounding the potential barriers that arise when clinicians attempt to implement extinction-based methods with parents of infants. We provide a model that summarises 3 types of contextual-barriers; socio-cultural barriers, parent barriers, and infant barriers. Based on the current evidence, we propose that adopting a stepped care approach, planning ahead, increasing support, motivational interviewing, and/or emotional regulation may serve as useful tools for parents when implementing extinction-based methods. By considering these techniques, more families may receive the benefits of improved infant sleep.

When should placebo surgery as a control in clinical trials be carried out?

Placebo surgery – often maligned as ‘sham surgery’ – is a tough sell to patients and to many clinicians. But could surgical research benefit from increased use of placebo control groups?

Regulation of the transition from research to clinical practice in human assisted conception

This review discusses the place of regulation in the transition from research to clinical practice in human assisted conception, with particular emphasis on the United Kingdom and the role of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). A contrast is drawn between advances in other areas of medical practice, in which the evidence base is considerable, and in assisted conception, in which it is often weak. This comparison leads to the central issue: how to balance the needs of patients with the need to ensure safety and efficacy in the introduction of new techniques. Comfort is derived from biological considerations that indicate that early human embryos are remarkably resilient and adaptable to challenges to their physiology. Regulatory practice in other countries is considered briefly. The review concludes that there are no easy rules or answers in managing the transition from research into the clinic, but that bodies such as the HFEA have a responsibility to: (i) encourage research to widen the evidence base and (ii) err on the side of caution when faced with decisions on licensing new techniques.