Michal Kahn , Maya Poches , Natalie Barnett , Michael Gradisar
{"title":"Does your baby have a sleep problem? Auto-videosomnography and parent-reported correlates of perceived infant sleep problems","authors":"Michal Kahn , Maya Poches , Natalie Barnett , Michael Gradisar","doi":"10.1016/j.sleep.2025.106710","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seeking professional help to improve infant sleep is typically based on parental beliefs that their child has a sleep problem. Such perceptions may reflect not only the child's actual sleep, but also parental behaviors and emotions. This study examined which objective infant sleep measures and parent factors are most strongly associated with perceived infant sleep problems, and whether these associations differed by parent gender.</div><div>Parents of 3158 infants aged 1–18 months (<em>M</em> = 8.4 months, <em>SD</em> = 4.5; 46 % girls) participated in this cross-sectional study. Infant sleep and parental crib visits were assessed using auto-videosomnography. Perceived sleep problems, parent depression, daytime sleepiness, cry tolerance, and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed via an online survey. Associations were analyzed using generalized estimating equations and dominance analysis.</div><div>Parental nighttime crib visits were the strongest correlate of perceived infant sleep problems (Wald = 105.88, <em>p</em> < 0.001): each additional visit increased the odds of perceiving a problem by 18 %. Other significant correlates included lower parental cry tolerance, greater depressive symptoms, shorter infant sleep duration, higher parental sleepiness, breastfeeding, higher education, and earlier infant sleep offset times. Gender-stratified analyses indicated that infant sleep duration and parental sleepiness were associated with problem perception among mothers only, while cry tolerance was a stronger predictor for fathers.</div><div>Parental perceptions of infant sleep problems are shaped more by parents’ behaviors and emotions than by infant sleep patterns. Findings highlight the importance of supporting parental well-being and involving both mothers and fathers in clinical and research efforts targeting early sleep concerns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21874,"journal":{"name":"Sleep medicine","volume":"134 ","pages":"Article 106710"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sleep medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945725003855","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Seeking professional help to improve infant sleep is typically based on parental beliefs that their child has a sleep problem. Such perceptions may reflect not only the child's actual sleep, but also parental behaviors and emotions. This study examined which objective infant sleep measures and parent factors are most strongly associated with perceived infant sleep problems, and whether these associations differed by parent gender.
Parents of 3158 infants aged 1–18 months (M = 8.4 months, SD = 4.5; 46 % girls) participated in this cross-sectional study. Infant sleep and parental crib visits were assessed using auto-videosomnography. Perceived sleep problems, parent depression, daytime sleepiness, cry tolerance, and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed via an online survey. Associations were analyzed using generalized estimating equations and dominance analysis.
Parental nighttime crib visits were the strongest correlate of perceived infant sleep problems (Wald = 105.88, p < 0.001): each additional visit increased the odds of perceiving a problem by 18 %. Other significant correlates included lower parental cry tolerance, greater depressive symptoms, shorter infant sleep duration, higher parental sleepiness, breastfeeding, higher education, and earlier infant sleep offset times. Gender-stratified analyses indicated that infant sleep duration and parental sleepiness were associated with problem perception among mothers only, while cry tolerance was a stronger predictor for fathers.
Parental perceptions of infant sleep problems are shaped more by parents’ behaviors and emotions than by infant sleep patterns. Findings highlight the importance of supporting parental well-being and involving both mothers and fathers in clinical and research efforts targeting early sleep concerns.
期刊介绍:
Sleep Medicine aims to be a journal no one involved in clinical sleep medicine can do without.
A journal primarily focussing on the human aspects of sleep, integrating the various disciplines that are involved in sleep medicine: neurology, clinical neurophysiology, internal medicine (particularly pulmonology and cardiology), psychology, psychiatry, sleep technology, pediatrics, neurosurgery, otorhinolaryngology, and dentistry.
The journal publishes the following types of articles: Reviews (also intended as a way to bridge the gap between basic sleep research and clinical relevance); Original Research Articles; Full-length articles; Brief communications; Controversies; Case reports; Letters to the Editor; Journal search and commentaries; Book reviews; Meeting announcements; Listing of relevant organisations plus web sites.