Mums lose sleep over children, but not dads

EACH child increases a mother’s chances of having her sleep disturbed by 50 per cent, research has shown.

But the same does not apply to fathers, whose sleep appears to be unaffected by how many children they have.

Researcher Dr Kelly Sullivan said: “I think these findings may bolster those women who say they feel exhausted.

“Our study found that not only are they not sleeping long enough, they also report feeling tired throughout the day.”

The research team from Georgia Southern University in the United States analysed the results from a telephone survey of 5,805 people.

Participants were asked how long they slept each night, with seven to nine hours considered “optimum” and fewer than six hours “insufficient”.

Among 2,908 women aged 45 and younger, a clear link was established between a poor night’s sleep and the number of children they had.

It appeared that each child in a household increased the chances of not getting enough sleep by 50 per cent. Overall, 48 per cent of women under 45 with children reported getting at least seven hours of sleep compared with 62 per cent of those without children.

No other factors, including exercise, marital status and education, appeared to influence how long these younger women slept.

Enough

Having children also affected how long women in this age group felt tired during the day.

Mothers reported feeling tired 14 days a month, whereas women without children felt tired for 11 days. However, children appeared to have no effect on the length of time that men slept, said researchers.

Their findings were presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Boston.

Dr Sullivan said: “Getting enough sleep is a key component of overall health and can impact the heart, mind and weight. And it’s important to learn what is keeping people from getting the rest they need so we can help them work toward better health.”