A Comparison of the Sleep-Wake Patterns of Cosleeping and Solitary-Sleeping Infants

• Published in: Child psychiatry and human development Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 95 - 105
• Main Authors: Mao, Amy, Burnham, Melissa M, Goodlin-Jones, Beth L, Gaylor, Erika E, Anders, Thomas F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer 01-01-2004; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Babies; Beds; Biological and medical sciences; Child development; Circadian rhythms; Developmental psychology; Family - psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Infant; Infant Behavior; Infants; Male; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Newborn. Infant; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Risk factors; Sharing; Sleep; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm - diagnosis; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm - epidemiology; Socioeconomic Factors; Videotape Recording; Wakefulness; Young Children; Human; Bed; infants; Evolutionary psychology; Infant; Mother child relation; cosleeping; Sleep; Follow up study; Sharing; Family environment; Body contact; Sleep wake cycle; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0009-398X; 1573-3327
• DOI: 10.1007/s10578-004-1879-0

This study examined whether 3-15, month-old cosleeping infants displayed differences in time spent in active versus quiet sleep, and in the number/duration of nighttime awakenings when compared with solitary-sleeping infants; and also whether they spent the majority of the night sleeping face-to-face, as previously reported. Nine cosleeping and nine solitary-sleeping infants were matched on age, gender, ethnicity, maternal age, and family SES. Video recordings of nighttime sleep yielded percentage of time in active sleep, quiet sleep, and awake, number of wakenings, and the percentage of time cosleeping infants and mothers spent face-to-face. Across age, cosleeping infants had more awakenings per night mean 5.8 (1.50) versus 3.2(1.95); t=3.16, p =.006). The percent of the nighttime spent awake did not differ between groups, suggesting that cosleeping infants had shorter awakenings. Cosleeping infants spent 40% of the night face-to-face with their mothers.