Moms, it's time to rejoice, because now we can officially prove to our husbands that we get less sleep because of our kids than they do.
For many parents who have young children, sleep deprivation is part of the job description. According to new research, however, mothers fare worse than fathers in the department of missing sleep.
After analyzing more than 5,800 adults, research has discovered that having children in the house has greatly reduced the amount of sleep mothers get, while fathers are unaffected.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults should aim to get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. More than 35 percent of people are unable to meet these recommendations.
As a parent, you will likely not be surprised by these results. After spending a night awake with baby, or waiting for your teenager to come in the door, you can probably relate to many sleepless nights because of your kids.
"I think these findings may bolster those women who say they feel exhausted," says the study co-author Kelly Sullivan, Ph.D., of Georgia Southern University.
But how much sleep are we actually losing because of our kids?
After a telephone survey of both men and women under the age of 45, researchers found that sleep deprivation worsened with each additional child in the household. Researchers determined that each additional child increased the likelihood of insufficient sleep by 50 percent.
Women with children also reported feeling tired during the day 14 times throughout the month, while women without children only had those feelings 11 times per month.
The team also reports that men's sleep was unaffected by having children in the household.
Lack of sleep has been associated with an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and depression.
The researchers' goal for their study was to shed light on what contributes to sleep deprivation and help to improve people's overall mental and physical well-being.
"Getting enough sleep is a key component of overall health and can impact the heart, mind and weight. It's important to learn what is keeping people from getting the rest they need so we can help them work toward better health," Sullivan said.
Source: Medical News Today