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Mothers, but not fathers, with multiple children report more fragmented sleep

Study tracks sleep patterns of first-time and experienced parents

Date:
January 12, 2021
Source:
McGill University
Summary:
Mothers with multiple children report more fragmented sleep than mothers of a single child, but the number of children in a family doesn't seem to affect the quality of sleep for fathers, according to a new study.
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Mothers with multiple children report more fragmented sleep than mothers of a single child, but the number of children in a family doesn't seem to affect the quality of sleep for fathers, according to a study from McGill University.

A total of 111 parents (54 couples and 3 mothers of single-parent families) participated in the study published in the Journal of Sleep Research led by McGill doctoral student Samantha Kenny under the supervision of Marie-Hélène Pennestri, Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.

Participants' sleep patterns were studied for two weeks. Mothers with one baby reported having less interrupted and better-quality sleep than mothers with more than one child, although the total amount of sleep did not differ depending on the number of children. No difference was noted in fathers.

"Experienced mothers perceived their sleep to be more fragmented than that of first-time mothers. Tension in the marital relationship may transpire if childcare is one-sided and not discussed collaboratively," says Pennestri, who is also a researcher at the Hôpital en santé mentale Rivière-des-Prairies (CIUSSS-NIM).

According to the researchers, interventions developed by healthcare providers targeting an equal distribution of daytime and nighttime childcare tasks could be helpful. These interventions should be tailored to each family member, depending on their situation.

As next steps, the researchers aim to explain the differences between mothers and fathers, and determine why mothers with more than one child report worse sleep.


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Materials provided by McGill University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Samantha Kenny, Rebecca Burdayron, Émilie Lannes, Karine Dubois‐Comtois, Marie‐Julie Béliveau, Marie‐Hélène Pennestri. Mothers’ and fathers’ sleep: Is there a difference between first‐time and experienced parents of 6‐month‐olds? Journal of Sleep Research, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13238

Cite This Page:

McGill University. "Mothers, but not fathers, with multiple children report more fragmented sleep." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 January 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210112163627.htm>.
McGill University. (2021, January 12). Mothers, but not fathers, with multiple children report more fragmented sleep. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210112163627.htm
McGill University. "Mothers, but not fathers, with multiple children report more fragmented sleep." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/01/210112163627.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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