A SIDS Surprise: Study Finds that Infant Boys are More Easily Aroused from Sleep than Girls

aasmnet.org -- A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that at 2 to 4 weeks of age male infants are easier to arouse than females during quiet sleep, and by 2 to 3 months of age there are no significant gender differences in arousability. The results suggest that the increased rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in males may not reflect a pre-existing vulnerability involving arousal responses.