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BMC Pediatrics
Published in: BMC Pediatrics 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

A pilot study to determine the short-term effects of milk with differing glycaemic properties on sleep among toddlers: a randomised controlled trial

Authors: Snigdha Misra, Geok L Khor, Peter Mitchell, Samsul Haque, David Benton

Published in: BMC Pediatrics | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

Sleep is important for children as it directly impacts their mental and physical development. Sleep is not only influenced by the timing but also the macronutrient (carbohydrate and protein) content of meals. Glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) describe the quality of carbohydrates in a food and the burden of these foods on the body’s blood glucose response. Diets with a high GI/GL may increase the risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus in adulthood. The present study is piloted to evaluate the short-term impact of milk products with differing glycaemic properties on the sleep patterns of toddlers.

Methods

Toddlers were recruited from various day care centres. Informed consent was obtained from both the mothers and the centres. A double-blind randomised controlled trial with a between-subjects design was adopted. The toddlers were randomised to either one of two types of milk with a differing GI (“Low” = 23 and “High = 65”) for a period of 3.5 days. There were no other dietary restrictions imposed except that the enrolled child did not consume any other milk during the study period. The sleep patterns were recorded using a Phillips Actiwatch-2, which was worn on the wrist for 24 h over 4 days. The parameters used to measure the sleep pattern were sleep-onset latency (SOL), total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO) and sleep efficiency (SE).

Results

A total of 56 toddlers completed the study. The toddlers had a mean age of 19.9 ± 4.3 months. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the two GI groups for SOL, TST, WASO and SE at the end of the feeding period.

Conclusions

Sleep patterns of toddlers on low-GI milk did not differ from those with high-GI milk consumed over a short period. Future studies should consider the glycaemic effects of other foods, along with milk with differing GI, consumed for a longer feeding duration.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrial.gov NCT01589003.
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Metadata
Title
A pilot study to determine the short-term effects of milk with differing glycaemic properties on sleep among toddlers: a randomised controlled trial
Authors
Snigdha Misra
Geok L Khor
Peter Mitchell
Samsul Haque
David Benton
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Pediatrics / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2431
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-015-0393-9

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