Levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin in breast milk change throughout the day. Drinking expressed milk at a different time to when it was pumped may therefore cause a baby to take longer to fall asleep at night or sleep more during the day
Health
12 December 2022
Drinking “mistimed” expressed breast milk may affect a baby’s sleep Shutterstock/Onjira Leibe
Babies who drink expressed breast milk can have disrupted sleep patterns if they consume the milk at a different time to when it was pumped. This may be due to them receiving a mistimed dose of hormones that influence sleep-wake cycles.
Infants are born without circadian rhythms. They rely on external cues, such as routines and changes in light levels, to help them develop a sense of night and day.
A group of German researchers previously found human breast milk …
