The Importance of Sleep For New Moms
Motherhood is a connection unlike any other. It’s a bond that continually grows and a love that willingly sacrifices. It’s a calling, a duty, and a blessing.
Although being a mother is a blissful event, it also means entering a world of exciting and surprising changes. As a new mom, you may find yourself compelled to dedicate every available time you have to cater to your little one’s need for constant care, nourishment, protection, and love. Along the way, it becomes so easy to feel overwhelmed and forget about your own wellness. But in order for you to tend to your baby effectively, you should first acknowledge that as a person; you have needs, too.
So Mom, don’t forget to take care of yourself. It’s the most unselfish thing you can do. It’s a necessity. Make yourself a priority and fill your cup first, so you can pour love for others as well.
To be a good parent, you need to take care of yourself
so that you can have the physical and emotional energy to take care of your family.
– Michelle Obama
As you enter the world of motherhood, you may view sleep as a luxury or an indulgence. It becomes one of the most neglected necessities. It falls from your list of priorities, way behind chores, work, responsibilities, and obligations.
What you may fail to see is that sleep is as important to your overall wellness as food and water. Sleep is necessary for your survival. It provides your body its much-needed rest and allows it to prepare for days ahead. These are the specific functions of sleep:
- Allows the brain to process new information and store old ones
- Supports and maintains critical body functions
- Strengthens the immune system and limits the risk of diseases
- Restore energy and repair muscle tissue
- Enables one to think clearly and maintain focus
- Allows one to deal with and control emotions healthily
What causes inadequate sleep among mothers?
Significant changes in hormone production happen during and after pregnancy and these have a direct effect on your sleeping patterns. While pregnant, you no longer experience the same monthly fluctuations associated with the menstrual cycle. The shifts in your hormones cause several physical and emotional changes. It also causes a disruption in the sleep-wake cycle.
After delivery, mothers experience another substantial shift in hormone production. The levels of the hormones progesterone and estrogen rapidly drop back to your pre-pregnancy level. The physical and emotional effects of this shift postpartum results in sleeping difficulties.
There are other factors that lead to sleep deprivation after childbirth, such as regular awakenings to feed or care for your precious one, postpartum depression, and physical and emotional adjustments post-delivery.
What are the effects of lack of sleep on new mothers?
The effects of an unhealthy sleeping pattern go beyond physical exhaustion. It affects how you cope with the demands of daily life. It can impair your judgment, fog your decision-making skills, and make you more irritable- none of which is good for you or for your precious one.
Sleep deprivation has significant effects on your physical and mental wellbeing.
- Effects on your physical health:
- It harms your immunity and overall physical state
Lack of sleep can affect your immune system, making you more vulnerable to getting sick. Chronic sleep deprivation is associated with hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and heart ailments.
- It causes unhealthy weight gain or loss
Inadequate and unhealthy sleeping patterns can change your metabolism and appetite cues, this leads to unhealthy weight gain or loss.
- It leads to poor balance and coordination
Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in one’s reaction time. It affects your motor control in the same way alcohol intoxication does. It also affects your balance and coordination, making the risk of injuries, falls, and accidents higher.
- It can affect your sex drive
When you lack sleep, the production of hormones such as estrogen and testosterone is disrupted. The imbalance in these sex hormones leads to low sex drive and libido, erectile dysfunction, and other problems with fertility.
- Effects on your emotional and mental health:
- It increases mood disturbance
Inadequate sleep causes an increase in negative moods such as irritability, sadness, frustration, and anger; while a decrease in positive moods is also experienced.
- It leads to problems with memory and concentration
The lack of sleep affects both short- and long-term memory and interferes with one’s ability to perform tasks efficiently.
- It increases the risk for moms to experience stress
Sleep is essential for your emotional and mental wellbeing. Being sleep-deprived leads to bouts of stress and this stress can be transferred to your little ones. Children react to stress by exhibiting negative physiological changes.
- It leads to mood disorders and affects your relationships
It’s also linked to different mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Lack of sleep also robs the quality time you may share with your children and your loved ones.
- It impairs judgment
Making decisions while experiencing inadequate sleep is both difficult and risky. This is because the lack of sleep hinders you from assessing situations and picking the actions/ reactions appropriate for a situation.
On Sleep Deprivation and Parenting
The lack of sleep also affects parenting negatively. Positive parenting is about being warm, nurturing, and responsive to your precious one. Moms who sleep less experience higher levels of stress and this causes a difficulty in regulating emotions. Because of this, they are also more likely to implore positive parenting than those who don’t. Healthy and regular sleep are important in promoting positive parent involvement and responsiveness.
The most important thing she’d learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a great one.
– Jill Churchill
As a new parent, sleep may appear to be elusive to you. But it’s important for you to rest and sleep whenever you can. This is to ensure that you’ll be equipped for the day ahead.
So, what can you do to get your much-needed rest and cope with the daily demands of motherhood? We’ve listed some tips on getting better quality sleep:
Check Out This Sleep Guide for New Mothers
TAKEAWAY:
New parents around the globe are struggling with sleep deprivation. We know it’s challenging, but we can see you’re acing it and you’re doing it all out of love. You’re doing great, mom!
But you also need to look after yourself. You need to treat yourself and receive support whenever you need one. Remember, whenever you neglect your own wellness, you’re not the only one affected. If you’re constantly tired and exhausted, your family will feel it too.
As you go through motherhood, remember that your baby needs you to be healthy and well-rested in order for you to keep up with her ever-growing needs. So, give yourself some grace during this period and remember that motherhood is never easy, nor is it simple, and while it’s hard to make sense of all of its given complexities, making time for yourself can make the path a little bit easier.
Being a mother is a life-changing journey.
Embrace, cherish, and celebrate it!
