Direct behavioral observation and motility monitoring procedures provide reliable data, and both are appropriate for sleep/wake state measurements starting immediately after birth. Using these procedures, newborn rats, rabbits, and humans were found to have a greater amount of quiet sleep on the day of birth rather than 24 hr later. Changes in active sleep and wake were inconsistent across the 2 days. The quiet sleep findings are contrary to the developmental course which increases with age. The findings are interpreted as a temporary adaptive response to the stress of the birth process.
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Carroll et al. (1999) studied this question.
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