Question

question 12
which of the following sleep patterns is most likely for a newborn?

7-8 hours per day
11-12 hours per day
10 hours per day
16-18 hours per day

Explanation:

Identify typical newborn sleep requirements

Newborns (infants aged 0 to 3 months) require significantly more sleep than older children and adults due to rapid brain development and physical growth. During this stage, their internal circadian rhythms are not yet fully established, leading to sleep that is distributed in short intervals across both day and night.

Compare standard developmental sleep durations

• 7-8 hours per day: This is the typical sleep duration recommended for healthy adults.
• 10 hours per day: This is closer to the sleep requirements of school-aged children or adolescents.
• 11-12 hours per day: This represents the typical daily sleep duration for toddlers or older infants (around 1 to 2 years of age).
• 16-18 hours per day: This is the standard, healthy range of sleep for a newborn baby, who typically sleeps in blocks of 2 to 4 hours between feedings.

Connect to developmental psychology concepts

Using the Stages of Sleep knowledge point, we understand that sleep architecture changes dramatically across the lifespan. Newborns spend about 50% of their sleep time in REM (active) sleep, which is crucial for sensory stimulation and neural pathway development, necessitating these long daily durations of 16 to 18 hours.

Answer:

• 7-8 hours per day
• 11-12 hours per day
• 10 hours per day
• 16-18 hours per day (Correct answer)