Infant co-sleeping patterns and maternal sleep quality among Hadza hunter-gatherers

Crittenden, Alyssa N.; Samson, David R.; Herlosky, Kristen N.; Mabulla, Ibrahim A.; Mabulla, Audax; McKenna, James J.

doi:10.1016/j.sleh.2018.10.005

Cited by 29 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…All participants in this study shared sleeping quarters with multiple children or adults. Higher numbers of co-sleepers might be expected to increase the number of nocturnal awakenings, and thereby reduce sleep efficiency and potentially sleep duration, as has been previously reported 30,34,40,41 . In the present study, the average number of co-sleepers was slightly greater in the non-electric communities (4.5 co-sleepers) compared to the electric communities (3.6 co-sleepers), yet the non-electric communities had both longer nocturnal sleep and higher sleep efficiency.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 72%

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Sleep timing and duration in indigenous villages with and without electric lighting on Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Smit

Broesch

Siegel

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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It has been hypothesized that sleep in the industrialized world is in chronic deficit, due in part to evening light exposure, which delays sleep onset and truncates sleep depending on morning work or school schedules. If so, societies without electricity may sleep longer. However, recent studies of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists living traditional lifestyles without electricity report short sleep compared to industrialized population norms. To further explore the impact of lifestyles and electrification on sleep, we measured sleep by actigraphy in indigenous Melanesians on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, who live traditional subsistence horticultural lifestyles, in villages either with or without access to electricity. Sleep duration was long and efficiency low in both groups, compared to averages from actigraphy studies of industrialized populations. In villages with electricity, light exposure after sunset was increased, sleep onset was delayed, and nocturnal sleep duration was reduced. These effects were driven primarily by breastfeeding mothers living with electric lighting. Relatively long sleep on Tanna may reflect advantages of an environment in which food access is reliable, climate benign, and predators and significant social conflict absent. Despite exposure to outdoor light throughout the day, an effect of artificial evening light was nonetheless detectable on sleep timing and duration.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…An increase in the number of sleepers sharing the same sleep surface or room can reduce sleep efficiency 30,34,40,41 or duration 46 . The number of co-sleepers was slightly greater in the non-electric communities, but sleep duration and efficiency were lower in the electric communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep timing and duration in indigenous villages with and without electric lighting on Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Smit

Broesch

Siegel

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…Co-sleeping both with children and other adults is a valued cultural practice in many societies and is also often a necessity for households in which indoor sleeping space is limited, as is common among mobile foragers 6 , 26 . Among the Hadza of Tanzania, actigraphic analysis revealed that co-sleeping with a breastfeeding infant was not linked to altered sleep duration in mothers, but a higher number of co-sleepers was correlated with shorter sleep duration and quality 27 . However, breastfeeding was associated with earlier wake times 27 , which is consistent with findings from the United States 28 , 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Among the Hadza of Tanzania, actigraphic analysis revealed that co-sleeping with a breastfeeding infant was not linked to altered sleep duration in mothers, but a higher number of co-sleepers was correlated with shorter sleep duration and quality 27 . However, breastfeeding was associated with earlier wake times 27 , which is consistent with findings from the United States 28 , 29 . Relatively little is known about fathers’ nighttime caregiving 30 , but shared family sleep has been linked to lower testosterone levels in cosleeping fathers in the Gambia and the Philippines 31 , 32 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Gender differences in BaYaka forager sleep-wake patterns in forest and village contexts

Kilius

Samson

Lew‐Levy

et al. 2021

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Sleep studies in small-scale subsistence societies have broadened our understanding of cross-cultural sleep patterns, revealing the flexibility of human sleep. We examined sleep biology among BaYaka foragers from the Republic of Congo who move between environmentally similar but socio-ecologically distinct locations to access seasonal resources. We analyzed the sleep–wake patterns of 51 individuals as they resided in a village location (n = 39) and a forest camp (n = 23) (362 nights total). Overall, BaYaka exhibited high sleep fragmentation (50.5) and short total sleep time (5.94 h), suggestive of segmented sleep patterns. Sleep duration did not differ between locations, although poorer sleep quality was exhibited in the village. Linear mixed effect models demonstrated that women’s sleep differed significantly from men’s in the forest, with longer total sleep time (β ± SE = − 0.22 ± 0.09, confidence interval (CI) = [− 0.4, − 0.03]), and higher sleep quality (efficiency; β ± SE = − 0.24 ± 0.09, CI = [− 0.42, − 0.05]). These findings may be due to gender-specific social and economic activities. Circadian rhythms were consistent between locations, with women exhibiting stronger circadian stability. We highlight the importance of considering intra-cultural variation in sleep–wake patterns when taking sleep research into the field.

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“…Nevertheless, there is significant need for further research, including comparative work from non‐Western settings, now beginning to emerge (e.g., Crittenden et al. ; Vitzthum et al. ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Toward an Integrated Anthropology of Infant Sleep

Ball

Tomori

McKenna

2019

American Anthropologist

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This article provides a novel synthesis of anthropological research on infant sleep, focusing on work in biological and sociocultural anthropology in the past decade. First, we briefly review early biological anthropological research into infant sleep from 1987 to 2007, which provided the evidence base for the argument that proximate parent-infant sleep combined with lactation represents a complex set of adaptations that constitute the human evolutionary norm. This work challenged the Western pediatric infant sleep research paradigm, which positioned formula-or bottle-fed solitary sleeping infants as the basis for research and universal models about human infant sleep. Next, we address how recent research has built on these foundations and extended anthropological insights into new aspects of infant sleep. Biological anthropologists, who continue to lead this research, have advanced into the hormonal and behavioral ecology of parent-infant sleep and trade-offs in nighttime care and parent-infant conflict. Moreover, they have made significant progress in translating anthropological research into policy and practice in clinical and health delivery settings. Until recently, sociocultural anthropology has primarily addressed infant sleep as part of broader endeavors, without an explicit focus on infant sleep. We highlight key ethnographic works that shed light on the cultural normalcy and interembodied experience of shared maternal-infant sleep with breastfeeding that help de-center Western discourses of infant sleep. We conclude by discussing future research agendas to forward an integrated anthropology of human infant sleep that considers its full biological and sociocultural context. Integrated anthropological approaches to infant sleep not only present a path forward for novel cross-subfield anthropological research but could help guide more effective and equitable approaches to maternal-infant health. [nighttime care, parenting, infancy, sleep]RESUMEN Este artículo provee una síntesis novedosa de la investigación antropológica sobre el sueño de infantes, enfocándose en el trabajo en antropología biológica y sociocultural en la década pasada. Primero, brevemente revisamos la investigación antropológica biológica temprana en el sueño de infantes desde 1987 a 2007, la cual proveyó la evidencia base para el argumento que el sueño padres-infante cercano combinado con la lactación representa un complejo conjunto de adaptaciones que constituye la norma evolucionaria humana. Este trabajo reta el paradigma occidental de la investigación pediátrica en el sueño de infantes, el cual posiciona los bebés durmiendo solitarios alimentados con fórmula o biberón como la base de la investigación y modelos universales acerca del sueño de infantes humanos. Luego, abordamos cómo la investigación reciente ha construido sobre estas bases y extendido los conocimientos antropológicos en nuevos aspectos del sueño de infantes. Antropólogos biológicos, quienes continúan liderando esta investigación, han avanzado en la ecología hormonal y co...

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Infant co-sleeping patterns and maternal sleep quality among Hadza hunter-gatherers

Cited by 29 publications

References 23 publications

Sleep timing and duration in indigenous villages with and without electric lighting on Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Sleep timing and duration in indigenous villages with and without electric lighting on Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Gender differences in BaYaka forager sleep-wake patterns in forest and village contexts

Toward an Integrated Anthropology of Infant Sleep

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