Parents wring their hands over infant sleep patterns. And so when those patterns change, parents tend to ____1____. But if your baby is sleeping more or napping at weird times, maybe he or she is just growing. So says a study in the journal Sleep.

It’s known that levels of growth hormone rise during certain stages of sleep. So researchers wanted to know more about the link between sleep and growth. They recruited the parents of 23 infants. The parents took careful ____2____ on infant sleep patterns for between four and 17 months. They also noted whether the babies ____3____, and whether they had signs of illness such as rashes or diarrhea. And the babies’ body length and weight were measured regularly.

The researchers found that periods where infants slept more overall ____4____ growth spurts and also a gain in weight and body fat. Both genders experienced that correlation, though boys had more and shorter sleep ____5____ than girls. The scientists note that increases in sleep may lead to increases in waking, as growing bones produce growing pains. So if your baby’s sleeping a little funny, maybe she’s just growing up.
【视听版科学小组荣誉出品】
panic real-time notes were breast- or bottle-fed corresponded with episodes
父母会对孩子的睡眠规律忧心忡忡。因此当孩子的睡眠规律改变时，父母很容易陷入恐慌。但如果你的宝宝睡得更多，又或者是在奇怪的时刻打瞌睡，这也许只是说明了他（或她）在长身体——《睡眠》杂志如是说道。 我们知道生长激素会在特定的睡眠阶段增加。因此研究人员想更深一步了解睡眠和成长的关系。他们招募了23名婴儿的父母做志愿者，这些父母实时仔细地记录4个月到17个月大宝宝的睡眠规律。他们也会写下宝宝是母乳喂养的还是喝奶粉的，宝宝是否有得病（例如皮疹和痢疾）的症状。宝宝的身高和体重都是定期测量的。 研究人员发现，总的来说，宝宝睡得更多的时候正是他们身体迅速发育还有体重和脂肪增加的时候，无论男女都是这样，但男宝宝睡眠时间更短、睡眠次数更多。科学家提醒道，睡眠增加可能会导致清醒时间增加，因为生长的骨骼会有发育期痛。因此，如果你的宝宝睡眠变得有点奇怪，也许她只是在长大而已。