Cox Rebecca C, Okun Michele L
Sleep, Circadian Rhythms, and Psychopathology Laboratory, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Sleep and Biobehavioral Health Research Laboratory, BioFrontiers Center, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
Arch Womens Ment Health. 2025 Sep 25. doi: 10.1007/s00737-025-01617-7.
Infant temperament is influenced by environmental factors, such as maternal depression and anxiety. However, the association between maternal sleep and infant temperament is unclear. We examined the associations between maternal postpartum sleep and maternal perception of infant temperament and the moderating effect of maternal depression and anxiety over 6 months following delivery.
Postpartum women with a history of depression (N = 166) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7, and Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short Form once per month for 6 months post-delivery. Associations between maternal sleep and infant temperament and interactions with maternal anxiety and depression were tested via 2-level multilevel models.
At the month-level, shorter sleep duration and greater sleep disturbance were significantly associated with higher infant negative affectivity, and shorter sleep duration, greater sleep disturbance, and lower sleep efficiency were associated with significantly lower infant orienting/regulation (p's < 0.05). At the person-level, lower sleep efficiency and greater sleep disturbance were significantly associated with higher infant negative affectivity (p's < 0.05). Both person-level effects were significantly moderated by depression symptoms, whereas only the effect of sleep efficiency was moderated by anxiety symptoms (p's < 0.05).
Maternal perception of infant orienting/regulation may be sensitive to acute sleep disruption, whereas maternal perception of infant negative affectivity is linked both acute and trait-like maternal sleep disruption. Lower depression symptoms may buffer trait-like effects of maternal sleep disruption on perception of infant negative affectivity, whereas higher anxiety symptoms may be sensitizing. These findings highlight the importance of maternal sleep health for infant outcomes.
婴儿气质受环境因素影响，如母亲的抑郁和焦虑。然而，母亲睡眠与婴儿气质之间的关联尚不清楚。我们研究了产后母亲睡眠与母亲对婴儿气质的感知之间的关联，以及产后6个月内母亲抑郁和焦虑的调节作用。
有抑郁病史的产后女性（N = 166）在产后6个月内每月完成一次匹兹堡睡眠质量指数、爱丁堡产后抑郁量表、广泛性焦虑障碍量表-7和婴儿行为问卷简表。通过二级多水平模型测试母亲睡眠与婴儿气质之间的关联以及与母亲焦虑和抑郁的相互作用。
在月度水平上，较短的睡眠时间和较大的睡眠干扰与较高的婴儿消极情绪显著相关，较短的睡眠时间、较大的睡眠干扰和较低的睡眠效率与较低的婴儿定向/调节能力显著相关（p < 0.05）。在个体水平上，较低的睡眠效率和较大的睡眠干扰与较高的婴儿消极情绪显著相关（p < 0.05）。这两种个体水平的效应均受到抑郁症状的显著调节，而只有睡眠效率的效应受到焦虑症状的调节（p < 0.05）。
母亲对婴儿定向/调节能力的感知可能对急性睡眠中断敏感，而母亲对婴儿消极情绪的感知与急性和特质性的母亲睡眠中断均有关联。较低的抑郁症状可能缓冲母亲睡眠中断对婴儿消极情绪感知的特质性影响，而较高的焦虑症状可能起到致敏作用。这些发现凸显了母亲睡眠健康对婴儿结局的重要性。
