Mums’ sleep crisis
NEW mums are turning into zombies as sleep anxiety grips their lives.
Overtired women become so obsessed with getting some shut-eye that their brains refuse to wind down and sleep never comes.
The “mumsomnia” cycle strips some of the ability to cook, get dressed to go out or even form a sentence.
Queensland accredited sleep therapist Amanda Bude said sleep anxiety was a paradox.
“The more you worry about sleep, the wider awake you become. One in three Australians have mild insomnia with women twice as likely to suffer from it than men. Add a new baby to the mix and the lack of sleep can be debilitating,” she said.
The sleep guru said that if mums could have blocks of three to four hours’ sleep they could usually make it through the early months.
Insomnia is not the same as sleep deprivation. All new parents are likely to be sleepdeprived but sleep anxiety occurs when there is the opportunity to sleep but they cannot drift off.
Tiff Howe, a Gold Coast mother of two children under two years, admits sleep anxiety turns her into a zombie.
“When I hit the pillow my body is tensed waiting for the kids to waken. On a bad night I will get a couple of hours’ broken sleep,” she said.
“The next day I struggle to eat breakfast, my eyes are fuzzy and I can’t put words into a sentence. It is hard to be bothered getting dressed to go out and, when you do, you are so tired you can’t be bothered chatting.”