Smarter Babies Need Less Sleep & Tend To Wake Up Through The Night
Is your baby restless? Never fear!
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Do you worry whether your bub is getting enough sleep? Or are you one of those parents whose kid sleeps all through the night?
Well, some new research might completely flip your opinions about baby's sleeping habits on its head.
According to new research, babies and children who are smarter or more gifted tend to need fewer hours of sleep to operate than other children.
University of Bristol’s Professor Peter Fleming, a specialist in infant development and health, revealed that babies who wake often are thought to have higher levels of intelligence and good mental health.
Speaking with Buzzfeed News, Professor Fleming explained there is a correlation between “very high levels of developmental and intellectual achievement and not sleeping throughout the night.”
While many parents believe a baby sleeping without interruption is best, from an evolutionary perspective it is more natural for babies to wake up often.
“Human infants are not designed to sleep for long periods, it’s not good for them,” he continued.
“There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there is any benefit to anybody from having a child that sleeps longer and consistently.
“That’s not perhaps what most parents would like to hear.”
He also explained that babies prefer to be awake during 6pm and midnight, and would rather sleep during the day.
“Biologically that’s a big advantage because they will have more attention from their two primary caregivers at that time of day than at any other because there are fewer distractions.”
Makes sense, right? Especially when many modern parents are busy during the day! Their little one wants all of their attention once the day winds down.
“From a biological point of view what the baby is doing is completely normal and sensible. It just doesn’t fit in with our 21st-century expectations.”
Not only are babies not supposed to sleep long hours at night, but apparently adults aren’t either!
A psychology lecturer at Notre Dame University, Professor Dacia F Narvaez, revealed, “Adults don’t sleep through the night either, they just forget that they’re waking up routinely.
“We jam all our sleep into eight hours because we work during the day and that’s just not normal if you look at the history of humanity.”
If your newborn is keeping you up at night, just remember - you’ve got a brainiac on your hands!
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