Babies who are introduced to solid foods earlier tend to sleep better

The study found that infants in the group which had solids introduced early slept longer and woke less frequently than those infants that followed standard advice to exclusively breastfeed to around six months of age.

Turns out, babies sleep better and suffer fewer serious sleep problems if they are introduced to solid foods early.

Referred as ‘Safe to sleep’, the method also urges parents to put babies to sleep on their backs, not on their stomach until a certain age.

A research at King’s College London conducted a clinical trial on two group of women. One was followed by standard infant feeding advice and were encouraged to exclusively breastfeed for around six months while the second group was asked to introduce solid foods to their infants’ diet from the age of three months.

The study found that infants in the group which had solids introduced early slept longer and woke less frequently than those infants that followed standard advice to exclusively breastfeed to around six months of age.

Differences between the two groups peaked at six months, with the early introduction group sleeping for a quarter of an hour longer per night (almost two hours longer per week), and their night waking frequency decreased from just over twice per night.

Feedback about maternal well-being showed that sleep problems, which were significantly associated with maternal quality of life, were reported less frequently in the group introducing solids before six months.