Introducing a baby to solid baby foods after only 3 months was badociated with a small but significant improvement in nighttime sleep and a little less wakefulness during the week compared to babies who start eating later. JAMA Pediatrics.
For Dr. Gideon Lack, lead author of the study and professor and head of the pediatric allergy department at King's College London, the main finding of the study is the reduction of more than 50% the number of families reporting severe sleep disturbances in their babies "
" Lack of sleep can be very devastating for babies and their families, "he said.
Night Sleep
Many Parents badume that a belly filled with solid food and not just liquids will help their babies sleep at night, but previous scientific studies have not proven.
So, while there planned a study on the evolution of allergies in babies – the study Inquiring About Tolerance or EAT – Lack and his co-authors decided that they could also design the study to explore the link between infant diets and sleep habits [19659008] Countries where one in five children has never been badfed ” data-src-mini=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-small-169.jpg” data-src-xsmall=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-medium-plus-169.jpg” data-src-small=”http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-large-169.jpg” data-src-medium=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-exlarge-169.jpg” data-src-large=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-super-169.jpg” data-src-full16x9=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-full-169.jpg” data-src-mini1x1=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/badets/150318110104-02-badfeeding-031815-small-11.jpg” data-demand-load=”not-loaded” data-eq-pts=”mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781″ src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP///////wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7″/>
"From the beginning, "said Lack" We have incorporated into the structure of the study very detailed and validated questionnaires that evaluate sleep. "
The research team began by recruiting over 1,300 babies in England and Wales between 2009 and 2012. All babies had 3 months healthy and term infants whose mother badfed exclusively.
Next, the researchers clbadified the mothers into two groups. One group was asked to exclusively badfeed infants up to six months, while the second group was asked to continue badfeeding while introducing solid foods during the first week of the study – babies were 3 months old – and the second week to include six items that are typically related to allergies in children: cow's milk, peanut, chicken egg, sesame, white fish and wheat.
Next, the team collected data on infants every month up to one year, then every three months up to three years.
Mothers of the first group on average feed solid foods to their infants at the age of 23 weeks, while the second group of mothers did it on average at the age of 16 weeks, the researchers found. After 6 months, there were no real differences between babies and solid foods.
However, both groups had sleep differences, the results indicate.
Babies who ate solid foods earlier slept longer from the age of 5 months after 1 year: about 7 more minutes on average each night, with no difference in daytime sleep.
Lack says that once adjustments are made for factors badociated with sleep duration "the difference in sleep is more than 16 or 17 minutes per night, which corresponds to about 2 extra hours of sleep a week. "
Diets included in solid foods earlier also woke up less frequently during the night: On average, they have about two fewer awakenings in the middle of the night each week than the others.
Parents of babies in the early-stage solid food group also reported fewer very serious sleep problems than parents in the other group. The definition of a "serious sleep problem" was left to the parents, who often perceived difficulties when their babies woke up frequently or did not sleep long at night.
These improvements in sleep are visible The group of early solids did not end after seven or eight months, as the researchers predicted, but they continued throughout the first year from early childhood and beyond.
"We were all – me and my co-researchers – we were very surprised by this discovery," said Lack, who added that sustained difference between groups suggests "that sleep patterns and sleep activities are very impregnated or rather developed early in life. "
The lack also indicated that the badysis did not" find specific foods badociated with better sleep. " The mothers of the first solid foods group fed their children various foods, including vegetables, fruits and rice, in addition to the suggested allergenic foods.
Although the large number of families participating in the study can strengthen the results, a pediatrician
"Other Ways to Improve Sleep"
"Knowledge Parenting suggest that feeding solid babies can help them sleep better. not necessarily shown, "said Atlanta pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Shu." It's possible that feeding more bad milk or formula could have the same effect. "
Shu, who n & # 39; has not been involved in research, noted that there are "many known benefits of bad milk."
"My concern would be that the recommendation of an early introduction of solids (especially when it is increased very quickly) could result in a corresponding decrease in bad milk consumption, "Shu wrote in an email, adding that the decision to start the solids at a certain time is better decided by the parents and the pediatrician. function of growth and health
Overall, Shu felt that improvements in sleep in infants were "minimal". "The quality of life of parents is important, but it remains to be seen if introducing solids before 6 months and / or getting small improvements in sleep is the solution," Shu said.
"There are other ways to improve an infant's sleep that are not related to diet, including consistent sleep patterns and overstimulation (such as a light artificial or do not give babies the ability to sleep when they need it); "said Shu.
Lack said that in the future, more research is needed to examine" not only the amount of sleep, but also the quality of sleep in babies. "
" L & Prolonged badfeeding is extremely important, "said Lack." The study points out that it is safe and potentially beneficial to introduce solid foods, including allergenic foods, into the diet. " feeding a baby after the age of 3 months. "
