Infants with colic have a normal sleep structure at 2 and 7 months of age

Objective: To compare nighttime sleep structure between infants with colic and a control group. Study design: Sleep and cry times of 15 infants with colic and 16 infants i n a control group were recorded with the use of a daily diary at the ages o f 5 weeks and 6 months. The diary was kept at home for a 1-week period. Ove rnight polygraphic sleep recordings in a sleep laboratory were performed wh en the infants were 2 months of age and were repeated for 11 infants with c olic and 14 infants in a control group at 7 months of age. Results: Daily sleep time was shorter in infants with colic compared with t he control group at 5 weeks of age (P =.001). Polygraphic data showed a sim ilar sleep structure between the study groups at 2 and 7 months of age. Inf ants with colic had somewhat more obstructive apneas during rapid eye movem ent sleep at the age of 2 months (P =.04), and they had fewer awakenings at the age of 7 months than the control group (P =.003). Conclusion: Infants with colic had normal sleep polygraphic finding at 2 an d 7 months of age including sleep structure, movements, and breathing. Desp ite the shorter reported daily sleep times, the polygraphic data did not su ggest infantile colic to be associated with a sleep disorder.