0038 IS EARLY SLEEP CONSOLIDATION ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES?

Consolidated sleep is widely considered a developmental milestone that is achieved at about 6 months. However, this typical developmental timeline is not always reached, leading to behavioral interventions at an increasingly younger age. Although the beneficial effects of sufficient nocturnal sleep duration are well documented, the specific contribution of a rapid sleep consolidation on infants’ development remains unclear. The aims of the present study are 1) to characterize the proportion of infants sleeping through the night at 6 months in a healthy population and 2) to determine the specific contribution of early sleep consolidation on development. These data (n=417 mother-child dyads) were drawn from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and neurodevelopment longitudinal study (MAVAN). A cut-off of 6 hours of consecutive sleep was used to determine if infants were sleeping or not through the night (maternal report, 6 months). Mental and psychomotor developmental indexes (Bayley, 6–36 months) and feeding method (breastfeeding or not at 6 months) were compared between infants sleeping or not through the night, with t-tests or chi-squares. While 260 (62.4%) of infants were sleeping through the night at 6 months, 157 (37.6%) were not. Both groups did not differ in terms of mental and psychomotor development, neither at 6 nor at 36 months (p>0.05). However, infants sleeping through the night were more likely not to be breastfed at 6 months (44% vs 20%, p<0.0001). Sleeping through the night in early infancy is generally considered a gold standard in North America. However, the interpretation of night awakenings as problematic in early development is not unanimous in parents and professionals. Considering that no differences in both mental and psychomotor development were observed between healthy infants sleeping or not through the night at 6 months, and given the well-known benefits of breastfeeding, one may have more nuanced expectations regarding early sleep consolidation. Supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research,Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health and McGill University.