We have shown that there is a relation between allergy to cow's milk and chronic sleeplessness in infants. In the present report we describe the sleep characteristics of children with allergy-related sleep disruption. We compared the polygraphic characteristics of nine infants studied before and after the exclusion of milk from the diet. The infants had a mean age of 18.3 ± 13.3 and 25.4 ± 12.7 weeks at the first and the second recording, respectively. Diagnosis of allergy was based on clinical observation. Sleep normalized after milk was withdrawn, deteriorated after a challenge with milk, and normalized again on a second trial of milk elimination. Before the change in diet, the infants' polygraphic recording showed frequent arousals (8-22), short sleep cycles, and a large amount of NREM1 sleep. Gastroesophageal reflux and sleep apnea were not responsible for the sleep fragmentation. After milk was excluded from the diet for 7 weeks, the infants showed striking changes in sleep quality. There was a significant decrease in number of arousals (-41.7%) and an increase in total sleep time (+22.7%) and in NREM2 and 3 sleep (+387.9%). NREM1 sleep decreased significantly (-42.1%). During the second recordings, these sleep values could not be distinguished from those of 40 age-matched controls studied in the same laboratory environments. We do not know if the observed modifications in sleep could reflect immunologic changes within the central nervous system.
CITATION STYLE
Kahn, A., Francois, G., Sottiaux, M., Rebuffat, E., Nduwimana, M., Mozin, M. J., & Levitt, J. (1988). Sleep characteristics in milk-intolerant infants. Sleep, 11(3), 291–297. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/11.3.291
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