Many babies nowadays are struggling to fall asleep without their parents beside them, or wake during the night, a stage that's undeniably exhausting for first-tie parents although it usually passes fast. Nevertheless, infants with severely disrupted sleep patterns can be at greater risk for both anxiety and emotional problems in later childhood, a new study finds.
Australian researchers who were able to track around 1,507 first-time moms and their babies found that "one in every five had 'persistent severe sleep problems'" as they described it, during the first year of their babies.
According to Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Dr. Fallon Coo, head of the said research, a lot of newborns woke up quite a lot at roughly three months and it's the normal sleep routine.
However, her research team found that about 19% really had severe and persistent sleep problems that were quite bothersome throughout that first year.
Effects on the Child's Mental Health
Also stated in the study that, babies who, even as they turn one year old, still wake about three or more times at night. More so, it may take up to one hour to go back to sleep and it's very hard to settle them when they wake during the night.
The mothers who participated in the research were asked about the mental health of their child aged four and 10 years old, using frequently employed medical questionnaires to evaluate anxiety, as well as the other mental health problems.
Furthermore, the researchers categorized the sleep patterns of 25% of the infants as "settled," while over 50% had moderate, changing sleep issues, and about 19.5% showed "persistent severe sleep difficulties."
Compared with infants who had settled sleep patterns, those who have severe and persistent sleep problems were almost thrice likely to experience symptoms of emotional issues when they were four years old.
This was according to the said study which journal, Archives of Disease in Childhood published early this week. More so, they were more than two times as likely to meet the diagnostic standards for an emotional disturbance by the time they turned 10.
Not Alarming
Despite the emotional disorder discovered, the researchers said they didn't want their findings to alarm parents, especially first-time moms and dads of babies and children who were struggling with sleep. One of the research team explained."
Around 56% of the babies had sleep problems that fluctuated." Definitely, she added, it's normal to have an infant with some difficulty sleeping. The ones that need to closely watch, the scholar added, are those with very persistent and severe difficulties.
Moreover, while the research found that babies with persistent and severe sleep disorders had more risk for mental health problems such as anxiety, it is vital to remember that the majority of them didn't actually have mental health disorders - they discovered a higher rate of mental health problems within that group.
The head of research urged parents who worry much about their child's sleep pattern to consult their family doctor. She emphasized that it is important that they don't stress the parents out even more. If the baby is not sleeping well, often, parents feel guilty because they think they are not getting things right.
