Survival Guide for Parents’ Sleep Deprivation

If you have a kid you know what parents’ sleep deprivation is and if you are not, you will never know till you are one. As a parent sleep deprivation is one of the first thing that hits and affects you the most. Statistics show that about 43% of one year old babies do not sleep through the night. Sleep deprivation affects all daily activities and this is true for all parents of new born children.

Do you remember the most common question every visitor asked you after your baby was born? How are the sleepless nights going? When you decide to have a baby, an inevitable thing that happens is parents’ sleep deprivation. This has been true for generations and I do not see it changing anytime soon.

Why Parents Are Sleep Deprived?

If you have a kid you know what parents’ sleep deprivation is and if you are not, you will never know till you are one. As a parent sleep deprivation is one of the first thing that hits and affects you the most. Statistics show that about 43% of one year old babies do not sleep through the night. Sleep deprivation affects all daily activities and this is true for all parents of new born children.

Do you remember the most common question every visitor asked you after your baby was born? How are the sleepless nights going? When you decide to have a baby, an inevitable thing that happens is parents’ sleep deprivation. This has been true for generations and I do not see it changing anytime soon.

Effects of Parents’ Sleep Deprivation

Studies reveal that not getting enough sleep at night and also during the day can lead to various health and psychological problems in parents. Parents after a point are not able to handle the stress and this leads to some of the following problems:

• Postpartum Depression
• Verbal fluency
• Memory
• Alertness and reaction time
• Feel groggy throughout the day
• Have trouble walking
• Inability to concentrate
• Mood problems like irritability and anxiety

Reading about the above problems does not seem big until you face them daily. The working ability of the father is also affected and this has an impact on deadlines and productivity. The mother though at home, is still juggling between feeds and diaper changes all day, and the tiredness increases. It is seen that mothers who do not get enough sleep are irritable and can cry easily. The mood swings of the parents sometimes affect their relationships as well. If you have faced it, you will know how parents’ sleep deprivation can have affect the normal life of the parents.

 How to Get More Sleep?

No parent can give a sure shot answer to this question as many times they do not even know the root cause of all problems is parents’ sleep deprivation. Everyone tries and finds a way out. If not, the health repercussions can be serious. Some of the ways we managed sleep were:

Forget the Tasks

When the baby sleeps, just take a nap. The housework can wait or ask for help. The baby needs you so put other things on a back burner. Taking two-three naps during the day while the little one sleeps can give the much-needed energy boost. Some babes do not seem for long stretches so I know it gets very tough for their parents. But the times, you know the baby will take a longish nap, make the most of it.

Sleep On Time

Forget catching up on TV or watching movies or just checking your Facebook once the baby sleeps. Yes, we all need some time off and some recreation. But it has to be limited. You can do this while feeding the baby as well or when someone in the house is playing with the baby. As soon as the baby sleeps, try and sleep as well. It will take some time to wind down so give the body at that time. In the initial few weeks baby will get up very frequently, but as they grow they will sleep for longer stretches. Sleeping with the baby will help you get some extra hours of sleep and sometimes, the babies sleep better when Mumma sleeps next to them.

Feed in Bed

Horizontal breastfeeding can be a boon to mothers if they can manage. Feeding the child while you both are in bed will help to put the child back to sleep easily and as there is not much movement, the mother can also fall back to sleep easily. This can be a problem when you are weaning off the baby so be careful but yes, it will help you sleep better.

Ask for Help

Tell the family members to help or maybe hire help. You might want to do everything for the baby but there are many other things that need to be taken care of. Do not act like a superwoman and ask people around you to help. I was always against the idea to hire any help for Little Miss A but I stayed with my in-laws and also my mom was here for the first one month. And of course, my husband was a great help, I mainly had to only focus on her work as the rest of the housework was taken care of. Take help and go take a nap!! It will surely make you feel refreshed and after the pregnancy, the delivery and the feeding, you derive it as well.

(You may like to read our post, 10 Simple Self Care Tips for New Moms)

Feeds at Night

If the baby is breastfed, pump during the day so that someone can give the baby a feed and you can get a few hours of sleep at a stretch. If the baby is formula fed this becomes more manageable. You do not need to get up for every feed and even if one is managed by someone and you can sleep at a stretch. When you can sleep for longer, you will be fresher.

Conclusion

Parent’s sleep deprivation is a big issue for parents in the first few months. For some, it carries on after the first year too. My niece is 3 now and she still gets up at night. I can imagine the plight of the parents. Sleep training a child has to be done at some point and parents should know how and when to sleep train. Luckily, we did not have much of a problem as Little Miss A started sleeping through the night in a few months only. Lack of sleep can lead to serious problems so all parents must be careful. Taking care of yourself is essential because only then will you be able to take care of the baby in the best way.

“A good night sleep and you can tackle anything.. Lack of sleep and everything tackles you”