Evidence on sleep duration and cognitive development in children aged 0–4 years is mixed, with no consistent association¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2–q3
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? One randomized trial found explicit recognition memory was better after naps than wake, while implicit memory did not differ. → Chaput JP 2017 q2 i? Cross-sectional evidence is mixed: 7 of 11 studies null, 3 favouring longer sleep, 1 opposite. → Chaput JP 2017 (2)

Evidence¶

Chaput JP 2017¶

Chaput JP, Gray CE, Poitras VJ, Carson V, Gruber R, Birken CS, MacLean JE, Aubert S, Sampson M, Tremblay MS. (2017). Systematic review of the relationships between sleep duration and health indicators in the early years (0–4 years). BMC Public Health 17(Suppl 5):855. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4850-2

q3 · i? · review · r3

Randomized cross-over trial (n = 23) in the review's cognitive development section; GRADE quality "high". Only significance is printed, no effect size, so impact is null.

"The number of correct answers in an explicit recognition task was significantly higher in the nap (control) compared to the wake (sleep-restricted) condition, whereas implicit memory (priming task) did not differ between conditions [ 65]."

Chaput JP 2017 (2)¶

Chaput JP, Gray CE, Poitras VJ, Carson V, Gruber R, Birken CS, MacLean JE, Aubert S, Sampson M, Tremblay MS. (2017). Systematic review of the relationships between sleep duration and health indicators in the early years (0–4 years). BMC Public Health 17(Suppl 5):855. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4850-2

q2 · i? · review · r3

Narrative synthesis of 11 cross-sectional studies (10,838 participants); GRADE quality "low". The review characterises overall cognitive evidence as mixed with mainly favourable or null longitudinal findings.

"of 11 cross-sectional studies, 7 reported null findings [38, 51, 55, 70 – 73], 3 reported that shorter sleep duration was associated with poorer cognitive function [57, 74, 75], and 1 reported opposite associations [76]."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Longer sleep duration is associated with linear growth in infants, with small printed odds ratios
• Shorter sleep duration is associated with higher adiposity in children aged 0–4 years, though evidence quality is low
• Shorter sleep duration is associated with more screen time in children aged 0–4 years (5 of 5 studies)
• Sleep duration shows no association with gross and fine motor skills in children aged 0–4 years
• Short sleep duration at age 3 was not associated with quality of life at about age 13
• Sleep restriction impairs emotional self-regulation in toddlers, with randomized-trial evidence of moderate-to-large effects — related
• Evidence linking massage to early childhood sleep is mixed: null in a meta-analysis of infants ages 0-6 mo but positive in small studies of older infants, toddlers, and preschoolers — related