Pediatric researchMar 13, 2019

Human Milk’s Role in Timing Nutrition and Its Impact on Child Health and Growth

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Mar 27, 2026

Abstract

Human milk may serve as a form of chrononutrition, communicating time-of-day information to infants.

85% of breastfed infants in the US receive expressed milk that may not align with the circadian rhythm.
Ingesting milk pumped at the wrong time could disrupt infants' developing circadian rhythms.
Disruption in circadian biology is associated with potential sleep problems and reduced physiological coordination with mothers.
The timing of milk delivery has not been extensively studied, and no pediatric or public health organizations have provided guidance on circadian-matching of milk.
Low-cost interventions to label and match stored milk with optimal feeding times may help mitigate adverse health effects.

Simplified

Human biology follows recurring daily rhythms that are governed by circadian cues in the environment. Here we show that human milk is a powerful form of "chrononutrition," formulated to communicate time-of-day information to infants. However, 85% of breastfed infants in the US consume some milk that does not come directly from the breast but is pumped and stored in advance of feeding. Expressed milk is not necessarily circadian-matched (e.g., an infant might drink breastmilk pumped in the evening on the following morning). Ingesting mistimed milk may disrupt infants' developing circadian rhythms, potentially contributing to sleep problems and decreased physiological attunement with their mothers and environments. Dysregulated circadian biology may compromise infant health and development. Despite wide-ranging public health implications, the timing of milk delivery has received little empirical study, and no major pediatric or public health organization has issued recommendations regarding the circadian-matching of milk. However, potential adverse developmental and health consequences could be ameliorated by simple, low-cost interventions to label and circadian-match stored milk. The current paper reviews evidence for human milk as chrononutrition and makes recommendations for future research, practice, and policy.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Human Milk’s Role in Timing Nutrition and Its Impact on Child Health and Growth

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief