by Terri Combs-Orme Ph.D.

Created on: January 11, 2009

The need for adequate sleep is not the only reason that the answer to this question is an emphatic NO, and scientific research provides data to inform us on this issue.

The first few months of life are the time that the body is learning to regulate physiological systems, including the Circadian rhythms that tell us when it's time to sleep and when it's time to wake. Infants' brains learn these rhythms through repetition. Healthy sleep routines promote not only brain development, but also effective functioning of the immune and other systems. These rhythms do not develop on their own, but rather through repetition and predictability.

It is not an accident that the day-to-day world of work tends to happen from 9 to 5; it's the result of the fact that we are most alert and productive during the day. Research also shows that night work and especially shift work are detrimental to health and related to lower productivity and quality of work. We do not just need a specific amount of sleep (and infants need a great deal-16 to 18 hours at first); we need the high quality sleep that comes with predictable sleeping patterns.

Moreover, there are other advantages to a routine bedtime, and to routines for other activities as well. Infants thrive and learn best in predictable environments. Predictability promotes brain development by helping the infant classify both her physical and temporal environments, to make connections between time and events. In fact, child development might just as well be called "brain organization," and this happens optimally in an organized, predictable environment. The brain organizes itself through experience, and patterns can only form through predictability.

Finally, not preparing your baby for the 9-to-5 world seriously disadvantages him when he starts school. Child development research now suggests that it is less important that a child who is starting school know her letters and numbers than it is that she be able to regulate her emotions and behavior and to move from routine to routine during the school day. The poor self-regulation that results from irregular schedules and disorganized environments makes it difficult for children to focus and to use the resources in the school environment.

So think carefully about this issue. It is not simply a matter of lifestyle. It is a decision that has implications for your child's health, brain development, school achievement, and ability to function in the world.

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