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WEDNESDAY, July 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Early introduction of solids is associated with significantly longer sleep and less-frequent waking for infants, according to a study published online July 9 in JAMA Pediatrics<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Michael R. Perkin, Ph.D., from the University of London, and colleagues conducted a population-based randomized trial involving 1,303 exclusively breastfed 3-month-old infants. Participants were randomized to an early introduction group (EIG), which continued to breastfeed while nonallergenic and six allergenic foods were introduced, and a standard introduction group (SIG) that followed British infant feeding guidelines, which recommend avoiding any food consumption for around six months of exclusive breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that infants in the EIG group slept significantly longer and woke significantly less frequently than those in the SIG who were given early introduction of solids; the differences peaked at age 6 months. At this point, infants in the EIG slept for 16.6 minutes longer per night and the frequency of night waking decreased from 2.01 to 1.74 wakings per night in the intention-to-treat analysis. Very serious sleep problems, which correlate with maternal quality of life, were reported significantly more often in the SIG versus the EIG group (odds ratio, 1.8).<\/p>\n
“[T]he early introduction of solids into the infant’s diet was associated with longer sleep duration, less frequent waking at night, and a reduction in reported very serious sleep problems,” the authors write.<\/p>\n