Does the maturation of early sleep patterns predict language ability at school entry?: A Born in Bradford study

Victoria C P Knowland; Sam Berens; M Gareth Gaskell; Sarah A Walker; Lisa-Marie Henderson

doi:10.1017/S0305000920000677

Does the maturation of early sleep patterns predict language ability at school entry? A Born in Bradford study

Victoria C P Knowland, Sam Berens, M Gareth Gaskell, Sarah A Walker, Lisa-Marie Henderson

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Children's vocabulary ability at school entry is highly variable and predictive of later language and literacy outcomes. Sleep is potentially useful in understanding and explaining that variability, with sleep patterns being predictive of global trajectories of language acquisition. Here, we looked to replicate and extend these findings. Data from 354 children (without English as an additional language) in the Born in Bradford study were analysed, describing the mean intercepts and linear trends in parent-reported day-time and night-time sleep duration over five time points between 6 and 36 months-of-age. The mean difference between night-time and day-time sleep was predictive of receptive vocabulary at age five, with more night-time sleep relative to day-time sleep predicting better language. An exploratory analysis suggested that socioeconomic status was predictive of vocabulary outcomes, with sleep patterns partially mediating this relationship. We suggest that the consolidation of sleep patterns acts as a driver of early language development.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-23
Journal	Journal of Child Language
Volume	49
Issue number	1
Early online date	3 Feb 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000920000677
Publication status	Published - Jan 2022

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10.1017/S0305000920000677

does-the-maturation-of-early-sleep-patterns-predict-language-ability-at-school-entry-a-born-in-bradford-study
© The Author(s), 2021
Final published version, 511 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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