o Participants were 39 toddlers and primary caregivers o Sleep data were collected via motherʼs sleep diary and actigraphy for 7 consecutive nights o Toddlers were seen at 30 and 36 months o Insufficient sleep has been linked with mood regulation and behavioral problems (Sadeh, Gruber, & Raviv, 2002; Johnson & McMahon, 2008 o Emerging research shows that a parental style which encourages self regulation is advantageous to the transition to sleep and in promoting the childʼs ability to sooth themselves during night wakings (Johnson & McMahon, 2008; Morrell & Cortina-Borja, 2002). o Christodulu and Durand (2004) found that consistent bedtime routines that incorporated specific steps such as taking a bath, reading a story, and changing into pajamas improved childrenʼs behavior near bedtime and reduced night wakings and the latency to fall asleep. o The present study investigates the relation between the number of steps in the bedtime routine, the consistency of the bedtime routine, and whether specific aspects of the routine affect toddler sleep. Bedtime Routines Affect Child Sleep Alli Cipra, Angela D. Staples, John E. Bates Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University - Bloomington INTRODUCTION RESULTS SUMMARY METHODS Table 3. Correlations between sleep variables at 30 and 36 months. Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Bed time .74** .94*** -.11 -.12 -.05 .77*** 2. Time actually fell asleep .88*** .70** -.24 -.09 -.02 .72*** 3. Average minutes asleep -.47† -.64** .48 .72** .24 .48** 4. Number of nightly awakenings .18 .27 -.10 -.11 -.77*** -.24 5. Sleep efficiency -.17 -.25 .31 -.85*** -.14 .16 6. Rise time .67** .62** .17 .21 -.07 .74** Note. 30 months are above the diagonal, 36 months below the diagonal. †p < .10 , *p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00 Story Bath Brush teeth P.J.'s Music Snack Lie Down TV Comfort object Nightlight Percent Elements of the Bedtime Routine 30 months 36 months 30 Months 36 Months Variable M SD M SD Average number of steps in routine 4.52 1.87 4.14 1.73 Variability in routine steps 1.00 .57 .99 .67 Average bedtime 21:00 0:48 21:14 1:10 Time actually fell asleep 21:30 0:46 21:53 1:05 Average minutes asleep 596.15 38.94 589.55 50.14 Number of wake episodes 11.12 6.43 9.38 5.42 Sleep efficiency 89.11 7.43 93.49 3.15 Average rise time 7:30 0:52 7:45 0:50 Note. 30 month N ranged from 32-39, 36 month N ranged from17-33 30 Months 36 Months Variable Number of steps Variability in steps Number of steps Variability in steps Bed :me ‐.23 ‐.07 ‐.29 ‐.13 Time actually fell asleep ‐.14 ‐.95 ‐.22 ‐.12 Average minutes asleep .03 ‐.06 .08 ‐.10 Number of nightly awakenings ‐.21 .06 ‐.41 ‐.41 Sleep efficiency .49** ‐.06 .37 .33 Rise :me ‐.15 ‐.11 ‐.28 ‐.16 Note. p < .05 *, p < .01 ** 30 Months 36 Months Variable Number of steps Variability in steps Number of steps Variability in steps Bed :me .39 .02 ‐.26 ‐.19 Time actually fell asleep .53* ‐.17 ‐.16 ‐.01 Average minutes asleep ‐.46 .25 .12 ‐.17 Number of nightly awakenings ‐.13 .18 ‐.30 ‐.10 Sleep efficiency .13 ‐.25 .17 ‐.03 Rise :me .14 .04 ‐.12 ‐.24 Note. p < .05 *, p < .01 ** DISCUSSION o Greater number of completed steps in the bedtime routine was associated with better sleep efficiency. o Children who were read a story at 30 months went to sleep earlier and had less restless sleep. o Over time parents were relatively stable in the number of steps in the bedtime routine. o Latency to sleep, average bedtime, number of wake episodes, and average minutes slept per night were relatively stable across the two time points (30 and 36 months). o In general, children have fewer elements in the bedtime routine at 36 months compared to 30 months. o We observed a change in the bedtime routine from 30 to 36 months with the story element. Prior research (Christodulu & Durand, 2004) suggests the story element is a significantly important aspect of the bedtime routine. Our sample showed the most consistency with steps such as changing into pajamas, brushing teeth, snacks, and television or other media. o We also expect that other elements in the bedtime routine may be important to child sleep. Further analysis will be conducted when more data are available. REFERENCES Christodulu, K. & Durand, V. (2004). Reducing Bedtime Disturbance and Night Waking Using Positive Bedtime Routines and Sleep Restriction. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 19(3), 130-139. Johnson, N. & McMahon, C. (2008). Preschoolersʼ sleep behaviour: Associations with parental hardiness, sleep-related cognitions and bedtime interactions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(7), 765-773. Morrell, J. & Cortina-Boria, M. (2002). The developmental change in strategies parents employ to settle young children to sleep, and the relationship to infant sleeping problems as assessed by a new questionnaire: The Parental Interactive Bedtime Behaviour Scale. Infant and Child Development, 11(1), 17-41. Sadeh, A., Gruber, R., & Raviv, A. (2002). Sleep, neurobehavioral functioning, and behavior problems in school-age children. Child Development, 73(2), 405-417. Table 1. Correlations between 30 month sleep variables and bedtime routine measures at 30 and 36 months Table 2. Correlations between 36 month sleep variables and bedtime routine measures at 30 and 36 months Please contact Alli Cipra acipra@indiana.edu. More information on this and related projects are available at www.indiana.edu/~batessdl/ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION