# Association Between Working Memory at Age 4 Years and Night Sleep Duration and Yogurt Intake Frequency at Age 1 Year

## TL;DR

A study found that yogurt intake and longer night sleep at age 1 may be linked to better working memory at age 4.

## Contribution

The study identifies novel associations between early yogurt consumption and night sleep with later working memory performance.

## Key findings

- Night sleep duration at age 1 is significantly associated with working memory at age 4.
- Yogurt intake frequency at age 1 is significantly linked to working memory performance at age 4.
- Yogurt intake frequency is not correlated with sleep duration in this sample.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: This cohort study examined the effects of sleep durations (night, day, and total daily) at ages 1, 1.5, and 3 years on working memory (WM) assessed at age 4, measured using forward digit span. Methods: Because frequency of yogurt intake at 1 year has been shown to affect sleep duration at 3 years, we also accounted for the association between frequency of yogurt intake at 1 year and sleep duration, based on a recent study indicating positive effects of yogurt on sleep. The study included 164 mother–child pairs observed from ages 1 to 4. Results: Spearman correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that both night sleep duration and yogurt intake at age 1 were significantly associated with WM performance at age 4. In this sample, however, yogurt intake was not correlated with sleep duration. Conclusions: To a limited degree, both yogurt intake frequency and night sleep duration at 1 year were associated with WM performance at 4 years, indicating that frequent yogurt intake at 1 year and longer night sleep duration may lead to higher WM performance at 4 years.