Having A Baby Utterly Ruins Your Sleeping Pattern For SIX YEARS – Study Reveals

A new research has revealed that having babies ruin your sleep pattern for at least 6 years. At least that’s according a study from the University of Warwick.

What’s more, researchers found that women are hit harder in the snoozing stakes than men.  Examining the sleeping patterns of 4,700 parents who had kids between 2008 and 2015, they were able to conclude that having a baby has significant short-term effects on shuteye.

The study says: “Sleep satisfaction and duration sharply declined with childbirth and reached a nadir (lowest point) during the first three months (after childbirth), with women more strongly affected.”

Dr Sakari Lemola, from the university’s psychology department, explained why during those first three months mums slept around one hour less than before pregnancy, while men were 15 minutes worse off.

He said: “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.” Even by the time children were between four and six, mums were still 20 minutes off their pre-pregnancy sleep time, compared to 15 minutes for blokes.

According to the study, first-time parents are likely to see a bigger change than experienced mums and dads. Women who breastfed can expect to sleep less than mums with bottle-fed babies.

Dr Lemola added: “While having children is a major source of joy for most parents, it is possible that increased demands and responsibilities associated with the role as a parent lead to shorter sleep and decreased sleep quality even up to six years after birth of the first child.”

Photo Credit: Getty

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