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Regrettable though it is, losing a considerable amount of sleep is part and parcel of parenting. It's just one of the many things you have to sacrifice in exchange for having your very own bundle of joy.
And, unfortunately, one recent study on sleep satisfaction for new parents isn't about to provide you with any silver linings. In fact, the findings will come as something of a blow for anyone who appreciates a generous amount of shut-eye - so, all of us - and happens to be a new parent too.
Researchers from the University of Warwick studied sleep patterns of more than 4,600 parents from Germany who had had a child between 2008 and 2015 for a study published in the journal Sleep.
Credit: Pexels
They discovered that first-born children completely changed their parents' sleep patterns for about six years.
Based on the findings, mothers lost the most sleep after having their child; more than an hour per night in the first three months and about 40 minutes a night in the first year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, breastfeeding mothers reported the least amount of sleep.
Credit: Pexels
"Sleep effects are more pronounced in first-time parents compared with experienced parents, in mothers compared with fathers, and in breastfeeding compared with bottle-feeding mothers," the report reads.
While fathers reported a reduction in sleep, theirs was not as significant as that of their female counterparts. Indeed, fathers lost a comparatively small amount of 15 minutes sleep a night in the first three months.
And it gets worse - because even though parents retrieved the lost hours of sleep after about six years, their overall sleep satisfaction never really recovered.
Ultimately, being a parent is all about sacrifice and that's something you'll be doing a lot of as far as your slumber is concerned.
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