ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health

Babies’ unwanted gifts: six years of bad sleep

It's worse for the mothers, of course.

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
March 1, 2019
in Health
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

A new study found that new parents can suffer from sleep deprivation up to six years after their child is born.

Having a child can be a tremendously rewarding experience, but it also requires quite a lot of sacrifices — and sleep is definitely one of them. Ask any parent and they will tell you that when you raise a small child, sleep is a scarce commodity. A team of scientists wanted to see just how scarce, so they and gathered data from 2,500 women and almost 2,200 men who reported the birth of a child during the study. Participants were studied up to 6 years after birth.

Unsurprisingly, they found that after birth, parents’ sleep quality decreased significantly. Fathers were a bit luckier: in the first 3 months after birth, mothers slept on average 1 hour less each night as compared to before pregnancy, while fathers sleep duration only decreased by approximately 15 minutes.

“Women tend to experience more sleep disruption than men after the birth of a child reflecting that mothers are still more often in the role of the primary caregiver than fathers,” says lead author Sakari Lemola, who works at the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick.

The first three months were particularly grueling, with the worst average sleep quality being reported 3 months after birth. While similar trends were seen in fathers, the effects were less pronounced. However, while this didn’t really come as a surprise, what was unexpected was how pronounced these effects were even years later. Up to six years later, parents were still significantly sleep-deprived, but the deprivation was spread more equally between the two parents. When the children were 4-6 years old, sleep duration was still about 20 minutes shorter in mothers and 15 minutes shorter in fathers compared to their sleep duration before pregnancy

There was also some good news, however. Parental age, household income, and dual vs. single parenting — factors which often make a large difference in parenting studies — were unrelated, or only very weakly related, to improved sleep. In other words, it doesn’t really matter how old or affluent people were: sleep deprivation affected them almost equally. Of course, the sleep deprivation is also counterbalanced by the many satisfactions brought by parenthood.

The study does have some limitations, however. For starters, the data regarding sleep deprivation was self-reported, and as we all know, that can be significantly biased one way or another. The data was also gathered only once a year, and some of the participants dropped out. There may also be a cultural component to this phenomenon, as different cultures can have different ways of caring for children.

RelatedPosts

Your efforts to save water? They’re actually working
Scientists determine the composition of the earliest Roman perfume. It smells like patchouli
Honeybee clusters act as ‘super-organisms’ to keep everyone safe during bad weather
Purple bacteria turn sewage into hydrogen fuel

In order to reduce this sleep deprivation, researchers advise parents to not worry about non-essential tasks around the house and accept help from friends or family if it is offered.

Journal Reference: Richter et al. The effects of pregnancy and childbirth on sleep satisfaction and duration of first-time and experienced mothers and fathers. Sleep, 2019 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsz015/5289255

ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

Future

China Resurrected an Abandoned Soviet ‘Sea Monster’ That’s Part Airplane, Part Hovercraft

byTibi Puiu
15 hours ago
great white shark
Animals

This Shark Expert Has Spent Decades Studying Attacks and Says We’ve Been Afraid for the Wrong Reasons

byJordan Strickler
18 hours ago
Agriculture

A Rocket Carried Cannabis Seeds and 166 Human Remains into Space But Their Capsule Never Made It Back

byTudor Tarita
18 hours ago
News

Ancient ‘Zombie’ Fungus Trapped in Amber Shows Mind Control Began in the Age of the Dinosaurs

byMihai Andrei
19 hours ago

Recent news

China Resurrected an Abandoned Soviet ‘Sea Monster’ That’s Part Airplane, Part Hovercraft

June 30, 2025
great white shark

This Shark Expert Has Spent Decades Studying Attacks and Says We’ve Been Afraid for the Wrong Reasons

June 30, 2025

A Rocket Carried Cannabis Seeds and 166 Human Remains into Space But Their Capsule Never Made It Back

June 30, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.