Babies who sleep better cut risk of obesity by a quarter

PARENTS of a newborn baby often crave a good night’s sleep, and research shows that it is not just the exhausted adults who benefit as ample slumber reduces an infant’s chance of being obese by a quarter.

As little as one hour’s extra sleep a night was found to cut a child’s risk of being overweight by 26 per cent, a study showed.

Data also revealed that waking up one time less per evening reduced the risk of a child being obese at six months old by 16 per cent.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital made the discovery after monitoring 300 babies from birth through to when they were six months old.

Parents kept a sleep diary, and electronic ankle tags were used to track how long a baby slept and how often it woke up each night.

“While an association between insufficient sleep and weight gain is wellestablished in adults and older children, this link has not been previously recognised in infants,” said study co-author Dr Susan Redline, of the Brigham.

It is believed children who sleep well get into a good feeding programme and as a result learn self-regulation from a young age which may help mitigate overeating.

Dr Redline added: “Parents should consult their paediatricians on the best practices to promote healthy sleep, like keeping consistent sleep schedules, providing a dark and quiet space for sleeping, and avoiding having bottles in bed.” The full findings were published in the journal