While it is known that feeding and nurturing newly-born tends to take a toll on mother's sleep, a latest study claims that it may affect first-time mothers' sleep for up to six years. The study published in the journal Sleep revealed that in the first three months after birth, mothers slept one hour less compared with pre-pregnancy period, while father's sleep duration decreased by 15 minutes.
"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."
"Women tend to experience more sleep disruptions than men after the birth of a child, reflecting that mothers are still the primary caregiver than fathers," said Sakari Lemola, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick.
For the study, they examined 4,659 parents who had a child between 2008 and 2015. According to the data, when the children were four-six years old, sleep duration was still about 20 minutes shorter in mothers and 15 minutes shorter in fathers when compared with their pre-pregnancy sleep.
The time course was similar for their satisfaction with sleep. Sleep deprivation is linked to a lot of health problems, like obesity and behavioural problems in kids. Insufficient sleep is also associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
This Natural Home Remedy May Help You Sleep Better
New mothers need to be very cautious with their diet since the child is solely dependent on them for their feed. They are advised not to have a lot of spicy or deep-fried foods. They should also avoid food from outside and eat everything made at home. For their disrupted sleep, they could load up on a tall glass of milk every day. Milk has compounds that encourage sound sleep. According to Ayurveda too, it is one of the best natural remedies to manage sleep deprivation. Milk is packed with tryptophan, an amino acid that converts into serotonin. Serotonin has soothing effects in the brain, prompting better sleep quality.
According to 'The Complete book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies,' if the plain taste of milk bores you, you can also enhance it with some healing herbs and nuts
Add a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of cardamom and some crushed almonds to your glass of milk and see the results yourself.
(With inputs IANS)