Does Sleep Matter? Impact on Development and Functioning in Infants

Mindell and Moore examine the impact of sleep on development and functioning in infants. Broad cognitive and motoric development are likely highly affected by factors such as genetics, nutrition, parent-child interaction, and parental education. Thus, sleep may be a drop in the bucket for broad development but, instead, have a more significant impact on next-day functioning. Additionally, there may be subgroups of infants differentially affected by sleep, such as those with neurodevelopmental conditions. Furthermore, there may not be a direct relationship between sleep and development but rather it may be more complex. For example, differential biological reactivity may lead some children to express poorer developmental outcomes in the context of poor sleep and better outcomes in the context of good sleep, whereas other children are more resilient to insufficient or disrupted sleep. By looking at group data, individual differences in response to sleep problems may get lost.