It’s no surprise that having a baby is exhausting both physically and emotionally. Then comes the no sleep, and that just adds to the exhaustion.
If you have more than one child, you might be thinking to yourself, “It’s been years since I’ve slept well” and if you think that, you’re not alone.
In fact, Experts Say, You Won’t Get a Good Night’s Sleep for 6 Years After Having A Baby and Here’s Why…
Researchers from the University of Warwick in the U.K studied sleep patterns of more than 4,600 German parents who had a child between 2008 and 2015 for a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Sleep.
What they found was that first born children disrupted parents sleep patterns for up to 6 years!
Of those parents, mothers reported losing the most sleep with more than an hour of sleep in the first three months after having their first child and about 40 minutes of sleep nightly in the first year.
Women who breastfed also reported the worst sleep satisfaction. (Makes sense)
“Sleep effects are more pronounced in first-time parents compared with experienced parents, in mothers compared with fathers, and in breastfeeding compared with bottle-feeding mothers. ” (Source)
Fathers also reported a loss in sleep, but it was much less pronounced than mothers. Dads said they lost about 15 minutes the first three months after childbirth.
According to the study, although both parents reported getting their sleep back to what it was postpartum within about 6 years, they also reported sleep satisfaction never really recovered.
YIKES.
So, basically, have kids and then never be able to sleep again.
I mean, where does the phrase, “sleep like a baby” come into play here?
If you’re a parent, we feel you and wish you the best sleep possible. They should make an adult nap camp where parents could nap while the kiddos are cared for… #justsaying
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