Infant Co-sleeping Patterns and Maternal Sleep Quality among Hadza Hunter-gatherers

Authors

Alyssa N. Crittenden PhD, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
David R. Samson PhD, University of Toronto MississaugaFollow
Kristen N. Herlosky MA, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Ibrahim A. Mabulla MA, National Museum of TanzaniaFollow
Audax Z. P. Mabulla PhD, National Museum of TanzaniaFollow
James J. McKenna PhD, University of Notre Dame

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-22-2018

Publication Title

Sleep Health

First page number:

1

Last page number:

8

Abstract

Objective Despite widespread interest in maternal–infant co-sleeping, few quantified data on sleep patterns outside of the cultural west exist. Here, we provide the first report on co-sleeping behavior and maternal sleep quality among habitually co-sleeping hunter-gatherers. Design Data were collected among the Hadza of Tanzania who live in domiciles constructed of grass huts with no access to synthetic lighting or climate controlled sleeping environments. Using interview data, we recorded baseline ethnographic data on co-sleeping. Using actigraph data, we tested whether sleep quality, sleep–wake activity, and/or sleep duration differs among breastfeeding women, non-breastfeeding women, and men. Measurements CamNtech Motionwatch 8 actigraphs were used to collect 1 minute, epoch-by-epoch data on a sample of 33 adults. Functional linear modeling (FLM) was used to characterize sleep–wake patterns and a linear mixed-effects model was used to assess factors that drive sleep duration and quality. Results The FLM suggests that breastfeeding mothers were early risers and had reduced day-time activity. Additionally, total number of co-sleepers, not breastfeeding, was associated with less sleep duration and quality, suggesting that greater number of co-sleepers may be a primary driver of poorer sleep. Conclusion The current study makes important contributions to the cross-cultural literature on sleep and augments our understanding of maternal–infant co-sleeping. The majority of Hadza participants co-sleep with at least one other individual and the majority of married couples sleep with their spouse and their children on the same sleeping surface. Our preliminary sleep quality data suggest that breastfeeding does not negatively impact maternal sleep quality.

Keywords

Actigraphy; Bed sharing; Breastfeeding; Co-sleeping; Hunter-gatherer; Maternal sleep

Disciplines

Social and Cultural Anthropology

Language

English

Repository Citation

Crittenden, A. N., Samson, D. R., Herlosky, K. N., Mabulla, I. A., Mabulla, A. Z., McKenna, J. J. (2018). Infant Co-sleeping Patterns and Maternal Sleep Quality among Hadza Hunter-gatherers. Sleep Health 1-8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2018.10.005