Motherhood is a role that fills you with boundless love, pride and joy. However, it also introduces a new set of challenges, including managing sleep deprivation.
According to the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, it is an issue many women face, as only 16% of babies sleep through the night by the age of six months. Moreover, as 17% of them wake up between two and eight times a night, prolonged lack of quality sleep can have serious consequences for the health of new mothers.
In this post, we will explore the importance of sleep for both mothers and babies. We will also evaluate some of the challenges mothers face in getting sufficient rest and provide practical tips to help them do so.
If you are a mother who is currently struggling to sleep at night, please keep reading to the end. We aim to provide you with some strategies to overcome your slumber woes.
The Importance of Sleep for Mothers
Motherhood is a very demanding role, where women have 24-hour responsibilities and constantly need to be multitasking. At the same time, the postpartum period is a time of significant physical recovery for mothers.
As a result, getting between 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night is incredibly important for them as it helps their bodies to heal and regain its strength while also going a long way to prevent postpartum depression and anxiety. However, if they are not able to get proper sleep, it can lead to fatigue, irritability and increased stress levels.
To maintain the energy and patience levels required to meet the demands of parenting, mothers should try and make quality sleep a priority - easier said than done, of course. That said, there are some strategies you can adopt to improve your chances of enjoying restorative sleep, which we will get to shortly.
The Importance of Sleep for Babies
For babies and young children, getting good sleep is just as important as it is for their mother. Sleep is fundamental to their healthy growth and development because when they do so, their bodies experience significant physical and cognitive development as growth hormones are released and the brain consolidates information to help them acquire new skills.
Establishing consistent sleep patterns from a young age sets a pattern they are more likely to keep as they get older, which contributes to better sleep hygiene and influences their overall mood, behaviour and ability to learn.
Causes of Sleep Deprivation in Motherhood
There are several reasons why mothers can suffer from sleep deprivation. One of the most common is that newborns tend to require frequent feedings through the night which disrupt a mother's ability to sleep. Additionally, babies can experience night terrors or unpredictable crying spells that can interrupt their parentβs slumber.
Furthermore, as mothers often find themselves in a constant juggling act, managing the needs of their children, household chores, and potentially work outside the home, the pressure of these roles can also lead to heightened stress levels which can cause sleep difficulties.
At the same time, postpartum can be a challenging time for some mothers who feel a heightened sense of anxiety or worry about their baby's well-being, which can make it harder for mothers to get the rest they need.
Other factors such as loud neighbours or street noise and partners who snore can also impact their opportunities for sleep.
Practical Tips To Get Better Sleep
Experiencing chronic sleep deprivation, especially as a mother, can be incredibly frustrating. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to try to get better sleep.
Here are some effective strategies to consider.
1. Create a Consistent Sleep Routine
One of the easiest ways to get better sleep is to establish a consistent sleep routine for both you and your child. This should involve going to bed around the same time every night and partaking in a set of activities that winds you down in preparation for sleep.
For babies, this could involve a bedtime routine that includes activities like a warm bath, gentle rocking, or reading a bedtime story. Congruently for mothers, once your little one is asleep, it can take the form of listening to sleep music, dimming the lights and doing calming activities such as reading.
Whatever you decide to do, the most important thing is to be consistent, because by following the same routine everyday your mind and body will recognise it is time for sleep.
2. Optimise Sleep Environment
Anyone will find it difficult to sleep if the environment in which you are trying to do so is not conducive to it. So, it is worth taking the time to create as inviting a space for slumber as possible.
This could involve buying comfortable bedding and mattresses for both you and the baby to sleep on, as well as reducing outside noise where possible and putting up black out curtains. You should also ensure adequate heating or cooling systems are in place to regulate the room temperature and make sure the lighting is at the optimal level you and your baby need it to be to sleep for longer.
3. Share Night Duty Responsibilities
While your partner might work in a full-time job, it is important to recognise that parenting is a team effort. Therefore, you need to find ways to share and reduce night duty responsibilities with them to lighten the load on yourself.
Subsequently, you should take the time to establish a clear schedule with your partner for attending to the baby when they wake up at night. This may involve your partner looking after the child between 10 pm and midnight and 5am to 6.30am, while you take on the middle period.
By not assuming or being given sole responsibility for looking after your child when they wake up at night, you give yourself the opportunity to get sleep for longer and therefore be able to function better the next day.
4. Sleep in a Separate Room
Not everyone will want to do this, but it can be beneficial to sleep in a separate room from your partner and baby β especially when they donβt have to work the next day.
So long as your partner is aware they are looking after the child, this can work well as often they will attend to them before you realise they have woken up. Subsequently, you might even get to sleep through the disruption without being uninterrupted.
5. Accept Help
Motherhood is an incredibly hard role to manage, but it can be especially difficult when you also need to take care of cooking and household chores. For this reason, you should not hesitate to accept help that can reduce the strain of your workload.
Enlisting a family member or friend to look after your child while you cook a meal or clean the kitchen can be very beneficial. Additionally, you should also take the opportunity for a nap to catch up on some of the vital sleep you have lost.
It may also be worth hiring a babysitter or cleaner to give yourself some rest time or better focus on what jobs you need to do.
6. Prioritise Self-Care
As a busy mother, making time for self-care is something that often gets put on the backburner. However, it is important to look after yourself as well as your child.
Try to set aside some part of your day for activities that bring joy and relaxation as this can contribute towards you getting improved sleep and enjoying a better mental well-being. Also, donβt be fooled or guilted into thinking that reading a book, taking a relaxing bath or going for a jog is a selfish act. It is an essential part of maintaining your own health.
7. Practice Relaxation Techniques
One of the best ways to get better sleep is to partake in mindfulness and relaxation techniques, as they can be powerful tools for managing stress.
By practising deep breathing, meditation, or gentle yoga it can help mothers to unwind before bedtime, promote a sense of overall calm and prepare themselves for restful slumber.
8. Get CPAP Treatment
Sometimes the problem of lack of sleep isnβt down to your child, it is due to conditions like sleep apnea that you or your partner suffer from.
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder which occurs when your upper airways are blocked during sleep, therefore stopping or reducing airflow. It is more common in men and can occur due to factors such as large tonsils, obesity or changes in hormone levels.
If left untreated, sleep apnea can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke or heart failure or coronary artery disease. Thankfully, its effects can be reduced or eradicated through lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking and losing weight and wearing a CPAP mask from companies like the Australian supplier CPAP Direct.
Conclusion
Itβs hard being a mother, especially of a child under the age of 12 months. So, it is always important to be on top of your game. One of the best ways to do this is to get a good quality sleep every night, as this will help you feel refreshed, invigorated and ready to tackle the challenges of the next day.
If your child is not sleeping through the night, or your partner snores, it can be very difficult to get the sleep you need. But if you employ the techniques outlined above it will go a long way towards improving your chances of doing so.
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