Sommeil et nutrition chez le nourrisson et le jeune enfant

In infants, sleep/wake rhythms and the feeding pattern are closely related. Establishing stable night sleep depends on time givers. The decrease and later suppression of night feeds are part of the process. Breast fed infants keep waking up at night later than bottle fed peers, and they are fed more frequently during the nocturnal waking occasions. After the age of six months, night awaking is likely induced by environmental factors (sleep conditioning, night eating syndrome, sharing the parents' bed, absence of limits) rather than by the composition of the mother's milk. Cow's milk intolerance as well as some dietary mistakes (low fat intake, excessive protein intake, low or high feed volumes) can induce true insomnias in infants.