The Astonishing Relationship Between Sleep and Maternal Mental Health
New parents frequently encounter intense sleep deprivation caused by the unpredictable sleep schedules of infants. This sleep deficit can greatly affect mental well-being, heightening the likelihood of experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety. The United States currently lacks comprehensive support structures for new parents. To alleviate sleep deprivation, individuals can turn to various strategies such as seeking assistance, striving for consistent rest periods, educating themselves on infant sleep patterns, and reaching out to professionals when necessary.
Sleep deprivation is practically synonymous with new parenthood; newborns require feeding every two to three hours throughout the day and night, leading to fragmented sleep for caregivers. Despite infants sleeping for 14 to 17 hours a day, these periods rarely align with the restful stretches needed by parents, especially during nighttime hours.
Moreover, it takes months for infants to begin producing the sleep hormone melatonin, prolonging the duration of nighttime awakenings for both babies and caregivers.
While exhaustion is often part and parcel of early parenthood, society frequently downplays or trivializes the impacts of this sleep deprivation, sometimes even resorting to humor, such as jokes about parents with cold coffee or tired mom memes.
Additionally, the United States lacks significant structural support systems for new parents, exacerbating the challenge of obtaining necessary breaks. Many parents in the US are expected to return to work before their babies have established consistent sleep patterns, compounding the already demanding nature of caring for a newborn.
However, it's crucial to recognize that sleep deprivation is a serious issue. It serves as a significant independent risk factor for perinatal mental health conditions like postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum anxiety (PPA).
Perinatal mental health conditions stem from a variety of risk factors, including personal or family history of mental health issues, stress, lack of support, and past trauma—sleep deprivation being just one among them. However, sleep plays a vital role in allowing the body and mind to recuperate.
A study published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine revealed that poor sleep quality during the early postpartum period could predict the development of postpartum depression (PPD) later on.
It's essential to recognize that susceptibility to postpartum mental health conditions varies among individuals (translation: being sleep deprived doesn't guarantee you'll experience postpartum anxiety or depression).
Understanding the profound impact of sleep deprivation on your mental and emotional well-being during the transition to parenthood is crucial, as it enables you to plan appropriate support around sleep.
Support during the postpartum period serves as a protective factor against perinatal mental health issues. By implementing the suggestions below, you can take steps to safeguard your sleep and, consequently, improve your overall well-being.
How to protect your maternal mental health and sleep
Make a proactive effort to seek assistance with sleep-related matters.
Adequate sleep is one of many factors that can help lower the risk of a perinatal mental health condition, but “adequate sleep” isn’t always readily available in new parenthood.
After all, it’s biologically and developmentally normal and appropriate for babies to wake and feed in the middle of the night.
That said, there are ways to plan for increased support—and you can start doing this in pregnancy. Think about things like who you may be able to lean on to get a little bit of extra sleep.
Can you ask a friend to help with the baby during the day here and there so you can sleep a few hours? Can you hire a doula or an overnight nurse? If you’re pumping breast milk or bottle feeding, can you split the night with a partner?
Having sleep support systems in place can help you get the rest and recovery you need. You can even build in space for this on a registry, asking friends and family to contribute funds toward sleep support.
Strive to establish consistent, uninterrupted periods of restful sleep.
To optimize your emotional well-being, your body and mind require extended periods of uninterrupted sleep—an elusive luxury for many new parents.
Ideally, "restful sleep" consists of a continuous four-hour block of rest, whether during the day or at night. Even if your initial anchor sleep segment falls short of four hours (which is common in the early stages), securing one solid stretch of sleep, regardless of the time of day, can be beneficial.
Just make an effort to relax and rest.
At times, placing too much pressure on yourself to sleep can ironically make it harder to doze off. When you're longing for sleep and finally get the opportunity, the pressure to fall asleep quickly can be overwhelming.
Ease this pressure by focusing on simply resting. Although it may not be sleep, rest can still be rejuvenating. Consider practicing a restorative technique like yoga nidra (also known as yogic sleep or psychic sleep), which involves lying on your back and following guided imagery.
You can easily find free yoga nidra videos on YouTube. This practice has been proven to alleviate stress and anxiety and may even promote the release of melatonin.
