I also read the Baby Friendly UK newsletter which I usually find very useful. I followed a couple of additional links and was very disappointed to find out that this group of researchers also did formula research to make formula just as sleep-inducing as breastmilk. I attached the abstract from this research. I wonder what formula company is going to benefit by this. Sigh, Rachel Wahl
Neuroendocrinology Letters, vol 28, p 360
Some 30% of pre-weaning infants present problems of sleep during the night, especially those who are bottle-fed. The solution is for them to be breast-fed for as long as possible, or, if this is not possible, for the formula milk to reproduce breast-milk’s natural circadian variations in the concentrations of tryptophan and those nucleotides which have a beneficial effect in consolidating the circadian sleep–wake cycle. OBJECTIVE: To study in pre-weaning infants the effect on nocturnal sleep of the administration of formula milk dissociated into its day/night components. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was carried out on 30 pre-weaning infants of 4–20 weeks in age who preferentially showed sleep problems. The day dissociated formula, administered from 06:00–18:00, had lower levels of tryptophan and carbohydrates, and higher levels of proteins together with cytosine-5P, guanosine-5P, and inosine-5P. The night dissociated formula, administered from 18:00–06:00, had lower levels of proteins and medium-chain triglycerides, higher levels of tryptophan and carbohydrates, together with adenosine-5P and uridine-5P. In a random, double-blind, design, three one-week diets were administered: Diet A (Control): normal initiation milk; Diet B: 06:00–18:00 normal initiation milk, 18:00–06:00 dissociated night formula; and Diet C: day/night formulas with the schedule given above. The sleep patterns were analyzed by means of actimeters (Actiwatch®). Statistical analysis consisted of an ANOVA with a Scheffe F-test, taking a value of p<0.05 to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The children receiving the week of Diet C (with the day/night formulas in synchrony with the environment) showed increased hours of actual sleep (7.68 ± 0.54 h vs. 6.77 ± 0.12 h for the Diet A control) and improved sleep latency (0.44 ± 0.04 h vs. 0.60 ± 0.08 h for the Diet A control). The same children receiving the Diet B in another different week showed an improvement in sleep efficiency (76.43 ± 3.4% vs. the Diet A control 69.86 ± 0.94%) and sleep latency (0.45 ± 0.04 h vs. the Diet A control 0.60 ± 0.08h) The parents also reported, in response to follow-up questions, an improvement in the sleep of their infants during the Diet C week. CONCLUSION: Day/night infant formula milks designed according to the principles of chrononutrition help to consolidate the sleep/wake rhythm in bottle-fed infants.
formula fed tryptophan nucleotides sleep newborn
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Journal references: Nutritional Neuroscience, DOI: 10.1179/147683008X344174; Neuroendocrinology Letters, vol 28, p 360
> Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 14:08:17 -0400
> From: Rachel Myr <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: breastmilk helps babies sleep
>
> From the Baby-Friendly UK newsletter I got today - this is the best spin I've seen so far, noting that the sleep-promoting substances are always present, and at their highest levels at night:
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> "New research from the University of Extremadura in Badajoz, Spain, has shown that the composition of breastmilk changes over the course of the day to help babies sleep at night. Naturally occurring chemicals called nucleotides, which have previously been linked to sleepiness, were found to be at their highest levels at night-time.
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> Researchers tested the breastmilk of 30 mothers who had been breast-feeding for at least three months. Samples of milk were collected before each feed over a 24-hour period, with between six and eight samples collected per mother.
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> The scientists also noted that this may have an impact on when mothers express their breastmilk and feed it to their baby, as milk expressed in the morning may not help a baby to sleep as well as milk expressed in the evening."
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> Rachel Myr
> Kristiansand, Norway
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