Parents’ sleep remains disturbed on average six years after the birth of the child, with women still being by far the most affected by this problem.
After the birth of the first child, the parents’ sleep is disturbed for… 6 years. Researchers from the University of Warwick have established that mothers sleep one hour less during the first three months after childbirth, and fathers 15 minutes less.
“Mothers provide even more care than fathers”
At the level of the couple, the duration and quality of sleep are altered until the child’s sixth birthday. But “women tend to experience more sleep disturbances than men after childbirth, indicating that mothers provide even more caregiving than fathers,” the scientists note.
Between the ages of 4 and 6, the gap between men and women narrows: sleep duration was still about 20 minutes shorter in mothers and 15 minutes shorter in fathers compared to how long they slept before pregnancy. A similar evolution was observed in the quality of sleep.
No parent seems spared from lack of sleep
No parent seems spared from lack of sleep: neither those with high incomes, nor those who are still in a relationship six years after the birth of the child. To reach these conclusions, the sleep of 4,659 couples who had a child between 2008 and 2015 was studied.
To preserve sleep with a toddler, experts advise eating well, practicing physical activity, organizing outings from home, sleeping when your child sleeps, alternating getting up at night with your partner and breastfeed. “Thanks to the synthesis of endorphins, the hormones of pleasure. We sleep more easily and better”, specifies about breastfeeding Dr. Abensur-Vuillaume, in the Figaro.
“For fifteen years, the serious physical and psychological consequences of lack of sleep have now been proven. The problem is that this message has not passed on to the general public. People do not make their sleep a priority, when it should be an incompressible daily time”, also underlines Dr. Sylvie Royant-Parola, president of the Morpheus Network, psychiatrist and doctor specializing in sleep.
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