Research tracking almost 5,000 parents found that even when children had reached school age, mothers and fathers were still suffering significantly worse sleep than before they conceived.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, sleep satisfaction and duration was at its worst in the first three months after birth, the study found.
\nMothers lost an hour\u2019s sleep a night in the first three months after giving birth, while fathers lost 15 minutes, researchers at the University of Warwick found.<\/p>\n
But six years after birth mothers slept 20 minutes less \u2013 while fathers were still deprived of 15 minutes a night.
\nResearchers said the increased responsibilities of parenthood were responsible for sleepless nights, long after the demands of feeding and nappy changing had ended.<\/p>\n
Before having children, men and women got just over seven hours\u2019 sleep a night, on average, the study found.<\/p>\n
Lead researcher Dr Sakari Lemola, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick, said: \u201cWhile 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ariananews.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/BBTS24D.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Researchers blamed \u201cchanges in duties, strains, and worries related to the parental role\u201d for long-term sleep loss.
\nThe study also found that levels of sleep satisfaction remained lower, six years after having children.<\/p>\n
The study, published in the journal Sleep, analysed data on 4,659 parents who had a child between 2008 and 2015.
\nParticipants were followed for more than six years and reported on their sleep during yearly interviews.<\/p>\n
The study concludes that for first-time mothers, childbirth is \u201cthe most significantly sleep-altering life event\u201d during their adulthood.<\/p>\n
The research showed that breastfeeding mothers got the least sleep, on average getting 14 minutes less slumber than those relying on bottle-feeding.<\/p>\n
Dr Lemola added: \u201cWomen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study, published in the journal Sleep, analysed data on 4,659 parents who had a child between 2008 and 2015.
\nParticipants were followed for more than six years and reported on their sleep during yearly interviews.<\/p>\n
The study concludes that for first-time mothers, childbirth is \u201cthe most significantly sleep-altering life event\u201d during their adulthood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Having a child will disrupt your sleep for at least six years, a study has found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_mat_hreflang_tags":[],"addvideo":"","video_duration":"","farsit":"","target":"0","top_stories":"0","top":"0"},"categories":[307],"tags":[445,444],"class_list":["post-2214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-having-child","tag-sleep-disrupt"],"acf":{"myctype":"change","target":false,"top_stories":false,"top":false,"farsit":""},"yoast_head":"\n