Babies spend most of their time asleep. New technologies are beginning to reveal why

Babies spend most of their time asleep. New technologies are beginning to reveal why

MIT Technology Review·2022-12-09 20:00

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Like many other people, I’m pretty sure I don’t get enough sleep. In my case, it’s partly because my four-year-old likes to wake me up for a chat at some point between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. on a daily basis. I’m jealous of my two-year-old, who gets a 12-hour stretch overnight and a two-hour nap in the afternoon. Oh, the luxury.

Toddlers need more sleep than adults. And my youngest used to spend even more time sleeping. For the first couple of months of her life, it seemed she was barely awake. Scientists are still figuring out exactly why babies need so much sleep, but a new tool is starting to shed a bit more light on this mystery—and could help reveal what is going on inside the rapidly developing brain of a newborn.

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Child Health