Sleep problems and infant motor and cognitive development across the first two years of life: The Beijing Longitudinal Study

Xi Liang; Xin Zhang; Ying Wang; Marinus H van IJzendoorn; Zhengyan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101686

Sleep problems and infant motor and cognitive development across the first two years of life: The Beijing Longitudinal Study

Infant Behav Dev. 2022 Feb:66:101686. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101686. Epub 2022 Jan 7.

Authors

Xi Liang¹, Xin Zhang², Ying Wang³, Marinus H van IJzendoorn⁴, Zhengyan Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: liangxi@cnu.edu.cn.
² Research Center for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: 2183502061@cnu.edu.cn.
³ Research Center for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: 2183502055@cnu.edu.cn.
⁴ Research Center for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China; School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: vanijzendoorn@essb.eur.nl.
⁵ Research Center for Child Development, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: wangzhengyan@cnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35007866
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101686

Abstract

The present study examined bidirectional effects between sleep problems (nocturnal awakenings and insufficient nocturnal sleep) and infant development (gross motor, fine motor, and cognition) in a sample of 182 infants (89 girls) and their parents living in Beijing (China). Using 3 waves of longitudinal data (at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years of age), this study (a) explored the differences in sleep patterns and developmental outcomes between infants in the current sample and infants from other cultures; and primarily examined (b) whether nocturnal awakenings and insufficient nocturnal sleep prospectively predicted infant development; (c) or whether infant development predicted sleep problems. Mothers reported their children's sleep problems, and infant development was assessed with Bayley III. Sleep patterns of Beijing infants were slightly different from those from Finland and Singapore, and most scores on Bayley III in this Beijing sample were higher than those in Danish, Dutch and Sri Lankan samples. Sleep problems and developmental measures were stable across the 3 times of assessments, but cross-lagged associations were limited in number and strength. High scores on the Bayley at 6 months predicted less nocturnal awakenings at 1 year of age. Insufficient nocturnal sleep at 1 year predicted poor fine motor development at 2 years. Thus, findings suggest some bidirectional associations between infant development and sleep problems and further highlight the need to understand these relations within specific cultural contexts.

Keywords: China; Cognitive development; Infancy; Motor development; Sleep problems.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Beijing / epidemiology
Child
Child Development
Cognition
Female
Humans
Infant
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Sleep Wake Disorders* / epidemiology
Sleep*