Associations between Social Contact, Sleep and Dietary Patterns among Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Social isolation in adults can be associated with altered sleep and eating behavior. This study aimed to investigate the interactions between the extent of social contact, eating behavior and sleep in infants and preschool children. In an observational study, 439 caregivers of 562 children aged 0-6 years provided information on sleep (i.e., duration, latency, bedtimes and nighttime awakenings), eating behaviors (i.e., meal size, consumption of sweet snacks, salty snacks, fruits and vegetables) and social contact (i.e., quarantine status, household size, social activities) during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020). In infants (0-3 years), the change in meal size and consumption of snacks, fruits, and vegetables did not significantly relate to the extent of social contact. For preschool children (3-6 years), a trend was observed, suggesting that quarantine status was associated with increased meal size. Changes in sleep duration, sleep latency, bedtimes and nighttime awakenings from before to during the pandemic were not significantly linked to the three variables quantifying social contact in both age groups. This study highlights that, contrary to expectations, the extent of social contact has negligible associations with infants' and preschool children's sleep and eating behaviors. These findings indicate that other factors beyond social isolation play a role in shaping children's eating habits and sleep patterns.

Not simply a matter of parents-Infants' sleep-wake patterns are associated with their regularity of eating.

In adults there are indications that regular eating patterns are related to better sleep quality. During early development, sleep and eating habits experience major maturational transitions. Further, the bacterial landscape of the gut microbiota undergoes a rapid increase in complexity. Yet little is known about the association between sleep, eating patterns and the gut microbiota. We first hypothesized that higher eating regularity is associated with more mature sleep patterns, and second, that this association is mediated by the maturational status of the gut microbiota. To test this hypothesis, we performed a longitudinal study in 162 infants to assess actigraphy, diaries of sleep and eating times, and stool microbiota composition at ages 3, 6 and 12 months. To comprehensively capture infants' habitual sleep-wake patterns, 5 sleep composites that characterize infants' sleep habits across multiple days in their home environment were computed. To assess timing of eating habits, we developed an Eating Regularity Index (ERI). Gut microbial composition was assessed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and its maturation was assessed based on alpha diversity, bacterial maturation index, and enterotype. First, our results demonstrate that increased eating regularity (higher ERI) in infants is associated with less time spent awake during the night (sleep fragmentation) and more regular sleep patterns. Second, the associations of ERI with sleep evolve with age. Third, the link between infant sleep and ERI remains significant when controlling for parents' subjectively rated importance of structuring their infant's eating and sleeping times. Finally, the gut microbial maturational markers did not account for the link between infant's sleep patterns and ERI. Thus, infants who eat more regularly have more mature sleep patterns, which is independent of the maturational status of their gut microbiota. Interventions targeting infant eating rhythm thus constitute a simple, ready-to-use anchor to improve sleep quality.

Severe effects of the COVID-19 confinement on young children's sleep: A longitudinal study identifying risk and protective factors.

The COVID-19 confinement has dramatically altered daily routines, causing decreased sleep quality in adults. This necessitates careful observation, as sleep plays a crucial role in brain maturation and poor sleep increases the risk of psychopathology, particularly in the young population. Through an online survey with one baseline (April 2020) and two follow-up assessments (May and June 2020), we examined the effect of confinement on sleep quality in 452 babies (0-35 months) and 412 preschool children (36-71 months) from several, mainly European, countries. An acute decrease in sleep quality was found in both groups of children. However, at follow-up assessments, this effect rebounded to the level reported for the period before the confinement. Importantly, caregiver's stress level was identified as a substantial risk factor determining lower sleep quality in both groups of children across assessments. Protective factors conserving children's sleep quality included caregiver's engagement in mindfulness techniques or childcare, and the presence of siblings and pets. In the near future, we may repeatedly experience the circumstances of abruptly enforced confinement. Our findings reveal promising pathways of action to protect young children's sleep, with which to essentially mitigate the long-term consequences of the pandemic on brain development and mental health.