NIGHTLY DANCE

The “Nightly Dance” project investigates the dynamic interactions between parents and their infants during the night, with a specific focus on the first two months before birth and 12 months after birth. Nighttime caregiving is a critical yet challenging period for new parents, marked by sleep deprivation, unpredictability, and significant effects on mental and physical health. While much is known about daytime caregiving and its impacts, the unique dynamics of nighttime interactions remain underexplored. 

This project uses state-of-the-art methods, including wearable devices, automated data collection, and machine learning, to study the real-time interplay between parents and infants at night. By collecting intensive longitudinal data, we aim to uncover how these nocturnal behaviors affect parental well-being, infant development, and long-term health outcomes. 

The study is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the night-specific factors that contribute to sleep and stress in parents and infants. It will address key questions about how infant-parent proximity, stress, and parental sleep quality are interlinked and influenced by nighttime caregiving practices. 

The findings from the “Nightly Dance” project aim to gain insight into what nightly interactions in a triad look like, develop programs that protect parental sleep and mental health, and pave the way for innovative solutions to support families during the critical postpartum period. 

The following people from our lab are working in this study: Joeke Nollet, Carolina de Weerth.