Overview: Research shows that getting enough sleep improves the mental health and overall well-being of parents.
sauce: Pennsylvania
New research from a multi-university research team including Daniel Simmons Downs, professor of kinesiology, obstetrics and gynecology and associate director of the Penn State University Institute of Social Sciences, suggests getting enough sleep indicate that it plays an important role for new and established parents. their mental health and thus life satisfaction.
The research team analyzed the couple’s sleep, physical activity, mental health, and life satisfaction.Their findings published in the journal sleep healthshowed that meeting sleep guidelines was associated with better mental health and, in turn, life satisfaction in newborn parents.
In addition, positive mental health changes were observed in women, especially for first-time mothers, but not in men, with or without children.
“Given the well-known decline in physical activity for most couples with the transition to parenthood, and the findings of this study that most parents are not meeting recommended sleep hours, changing physical activity and sleep A targeted approach that adapts the intervention dose to the needs of the couple throughout the perinatal and postnatal period can be a useful intervention strategy for improving and ideally maintaining the long-term mental health of the parent. It’s possible,” Downes explained.
The research team recommends that parents who can’t schedule sleep time avoid large meals and drink caffeine closer to bedtime. Let your body know.
“This study showed that physical activity had a negligible effect on parental mental health. However, getting the recommended amount of sleep was associated with improved parental mental health. ,” said Alison Devine, senior author and Lecturer at the University of Leeds.
“Although there was variability, most parents slept about an hour below the recommended sleep duration. We show that interventions that prioritize sleep health education for new parents may have a more positive impact on their quality of life.”
About this sleep and mental health research news
author: press office
sauce: Pennsylvania
contact: Press Office – Pennsylvania
image: image is public domain
Original research: open access.
“Effects of sleep and exercise on mental health and life satisfaction during the transition to parenthoodAlison Devine and others sleep health
Overview
Effects of sleep and exercise on mental health and life satisfaction during the transition to parenthood
See also
Purpose
This study evaluated whether sleep and physical activity influence mental health and life satisfaction across transitions to parenthood. This study investigated the effects of parenthood on the mental health of a new parent and a parent expecting her second child, and whether changes in mental health occurred in her dichotomous among couples. I rated it.
design
Longitudinal study over 12 months.
participant
157 couples aged 25 to 40 (N = 314) were not expecting a child (n = 102), were not expecting a first child (n = 136), or were expecting a second child. (n = 76) were adopted.
measurement
Participants completed measurements at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Sleep was assessed as often as participants met sleep guidelines (7-9 hours). Physical activity was measured objectively via an accelerometer. mental health was measured using 6 items from a simple form 12 Quality of Life Survey. Life satisfaction was evaluated using the Life Satisfaction Scale (5 items).
result
Mental health was not predicted by physical activity but by sleep. Six months of sleep was positively correlated with six months of mental health (β = 0.156, p < .001), 12 months of sleep was positively correlated with 12 months of mental health (β = 0.170, p < .001). Changes in mental health did not occur in the two groups. Mental health increased in women, but not men, across groups. Mental health was positively correlated with life satisfaction at 6 months of age (β = 0.338, p < .001) and 12 months (β = 0.277, p < .001).
Conclusion
For new and established parents, getting enough sleep plays an important role in mental health and, in turn, life satisfaction.
