Is sleep regression around 6 months partially caused by lack of iron?

[u/ExplosionsInTheSky_]

Just something I've been wondering about for a little while and I'm not sure if this is something that has any research behind it (since I know they're also hitting a lot of physical milestones around that time!)

I read something a while ago that a baby will have enough iron from you for the first 6 months of their life and then when you start solids, you want to make sure they're getting enough iron. I've also heard that lack of iron can cause sleep issues with babies. So I was just curious if these things are related!

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[u/SubstantialString866]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945710002182

This article says more than 25% of infants globally are iron deficient in some way and that it can affect sleep long term. But since most babies go through regular sleep regressions, it's probably more connected to healthy development than a deficiency. But if you look on Google scholar there's research out there about iron and sleep. Maybe it's easier to just keep giving baby iron and address sleep issues in other ways. 

On a personal note, my kids all had regular blood iron checks throughout infancy until kindergarten and were never deficient (my pediatrician said breastmilk was iron deficient but that's all my kids got until 6 months and it was still the majority of their diet until one year, maybe it was all the dirt they loved eating when I was distracted) but still were terrible sleepers until 2yrs old. My SIL has a baby that slept through the night from the beginning without training, no idea on her iron levels but suspect it's fine because she's on a quality formula. Sometimes you get what you get when it comes to sleepers, sometimes training works, and sometimes you just don't get sleep for a while and Google how the Navy seals survive sleep deprivation to see if there's any useful tips. And realize you have it worse than the Navy Seal. 🙃

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