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Top parenting stories this week
More Sleep for Mom
Getting some shut-eye isn't easy when you're a mom, but sleep can boost your mood, help you cope–and even make it easier to drop post-pregnancy pounds. Here's how to get more zzz's.
by: Terry Carson
In This Article
Sleep for Mom
- Not getting enough sleep can affect your ability to cope and have a domino effect on the rest of your family.
- A recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found moms who slept fewer than five hours a night when their babies were six months old were more likely to retain pregnancy weight than moms who got more rest.
- The best way to get the sleep you need is to ask for help from friends, family or neighbors.
- Whenever possible, enforce naptime–for your baby, toddler and for you.
- If your kids aren't sleeping, chances are you aren't either. Invest in a good book on sleep solutions to get everyone on schedule.
oms with young children are often short on sleep, but have a hard time balancing their needs with keeping track of their kids, house, work and husband. And it's hard enough getting one child on a sleep schedule, but when baby number two (or three, or four) arrives, it can be overwhelming and affect your sleep too. What many women don't realize is that, in order to cope, a mom must take care of her own needs first, then she can better see to everyone else's.
Why you need sleep
Sleep deprivation can affect your coping skills and heighten feelings of frustration and irritability. And when moms experience difficult emotions on an ongoing basis, there is a domino effect on the rest of the family.
A new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School also found that sleep can affect how you lose your post-pregnancy weight. Researchers found that mothers who slept five hours or fewer a day when their babies were six months old had a higher risk for substantial weight retention (11 pounds or more) at their baby's first birthday compared to moms who got seven hours of sleep.
