Babies who begin eating solid food early tend to sleep longer and more soundly, a new study shows.
The findings contradict recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that children not be weaned from formula or breast milk until about 6 months old.
The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, involved approximately 1,300 English and Welsh children starting at 3 months old. Some were introduced to solid foods right away, with the remainder holding off until they attained the previously recommended 6-month mark, Newsweek reported.
The parents followed up with monthly questionnaires until their children reached their first birthday, then quarterly until they reached 3 years of age.
The data the researchers compiled suggested children who were weaned earlier tended to sleep for longer periods and wake fewer times than the others, according to Newsweek.
The study's single most important finding, said Dr. Gideon Lack, was the "more than 50 percent reduction in the number of families reporting severe sleep disturbances in their babies," according to CNN.
Lack, the senior author of the study and a professor and head of the Department of Pediatric Allergy at King's College London, added that insufficient "sleep can be pretty devastating for babies and their families."
The type of solid food provided didn’t appear to make a difference. The babies were fed a variety, including fruit, vegetables, and grains.
However, the benefits of breast milk have been long-established.
"Breast milk boosts an infant’s immune system and contributes to brain development, so there are also benefits to exclusive breastfeeding for six months," explained Dr. Clare Llewellyn, a lecturer in behavioral science and health at the U.K.-based University College London, Newsweek reported. "The well-established benefits of breast milk need to be weighed up against the potential benefits of early introduction of solid food which displaces breast milk."
Mothers on social media claimed the researchers hadn’t come up with anything new — they’d known all this from their own child-rearing.
Then again, one observed:
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