Infants
Please note that this section contains my personal notes from my readings on this topic.
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“Quiet Alert”
A study at the University of Connecticut showed that there was a strong association between the amount of time infants were in REM sleep and the amount of time they spent when awake in the behavioral state called “quiet alert.” In the quiet alert state, babies have open, bright eyes, they appear alert, their eyes are scanning, their faces are relaxed, and they do not smile or frown. Their bodies are relatively quiet and inactive…
A study of sleep development at Stanford University showed that environmental factors, not simply brain maturation, are responsible for the proportion of time infants spend in REM sleep. Unfortunately, the exact environmental factors were not identified, but presumably parental handling could influence all of these items: sleep patterns, the proportion of REM sleep, and the amount of time the child is in the quiet alert state.
Benefits of Quiet Alert State
Infants who are notoriously not quiet alert are those with colic or a difficult temperament. Their fussy behavior may be due to imbalances of internal chemicals such as progesterone or even cortisol. High cortisol concentrations in infants have been shown to be associated with decreased duration of non-REM sleep. So, even in infants, as in adults, there seem to be connections between internal chemicals, sleep patterns, and behavior when awake. Also, these children tend to have irregular schedules and short attention spans. Among two- to three-month-old infants, one study showed that the more irregular and impersistent the child was, the slower the rates of learning… Colicky or difficult-temperament children, who sleep for brief durations and have irregular schedules and short attention spans may not learn quickly to fall asleep unassisted. Thus they easily could become sleep-deprived, fatigued, and hyperactive older children.
Naps are Important!
Naps are especially important for infants. In my own studies, I’ve found that how long the infant sleeps during the day is strongly associated with persistence or attention span. Infants who take long naps have longer attention spans. They spend more time in the quiet alert state and seem to learn faster. Infants who do not nap well are either drowsy or fitfully fussy, and in either case they do not learn well.
It is a myth that long naps interfere with acquiring socialization skills or infant stimulation… Please do not confuse the quantity of time spent in these organized activities with the high-quality social awareness that well-rested children exhibit. The truth is that these infant-stimulation groups are often not important for infants but instead serve legitimate parental needs by allowing mothers and fathers to meet other parents and escape from their isolation at home. Please click on Naps to read more.
– Dr. Marc Weissbluth, M.D. of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (1987), pages 59 – 61
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