Studies say adding complementary foods early can help improve sleep in infants

new study, published today in the latest issue of
, shows that giving infants under the age of half a year an early addition of complementary foods rather than breastfeeding alone can give them more sleep and wake up less often at night.
Researchers at King's College London and St George's School of Medicine at the University of London randomly selected more than 1,300 three-month-old babies in England and Wales, dividing them into two groups, one breastfed exclusively before the age of half and the other breastfed at three months of age while breastfeeding.
the first year of life, the researchers asked parents to complete an online questionnaire once a month, and between the ages of 1 and 3, they completed an online questionnaire every three months, resulting in 1,225 parents of infants and young children completing the survey. The questionnaire included the frequency of complementary feeding, the frequency and duration of breastfeeding, and the duration of sleep.
researchers found that babies who added complementary foods early sleep longer and are less likely to wake up at night. The difference was greatest between the two groups of infants at 6 months of age, with infants who added complementary foods at an early age sleeping an average of 16. In 6 minutes, the number of wakes at night decreased from an average of more than 2 times to 1. 74 times.
co-author Michael Perkin, of St George's School of Medicine at the University of London, said that while sleep time and wake-up times have improved only slightly, sleep in infants directly affects the quality of life of parents, and a slight improvement can have important benefits.
, however, the World Health Organization currently recommends exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age, with complementary foods added while continuing breastfeeding after six months. (Source: Xinhua News Agency Zhou Zhou)