Having your first baby can seriously strain your relationship due to lack of sleep, says a new study.
First-time parents' relationship satisfaction is related to the amount of sleep they get while caring for an infant, according to the research.
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Results indicate that self-reported relationship satisfaction among new parents was strongly associated with objective total sleep time measured by actigraphy.
This association was stronger than the association between subjectively reported sleep and relationship satisfaction.
"We were surprised to discover that objectively measured sleep predicted relationship satisfaction above and beyond the couples' subjectively reported sleep," said lead author Salvatore Insana, a graduate research assistant in the Sleep and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory at West Virginia University in Morgantown.
![AIDS and Pregnancy]( "AIDS and Pregnancy")
The Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is brought about by the deadly human immunodeficiency virus. In the USA alone an estimate of 120,000 - 160,000 women are HIV- infected.
"In other words, how parents actually slept had a greater impact on their relationship satisfaction than how they think they slept. This was true for both mothers and fathers," Insana added.
The study also found that first-time fathers were more satisfied than their partners thought they were: Mothers significantly underestimated fathers' self-reported relationship satisfaction. Mothers also overestimated fathers' self-reported sleep quality, while fathers underestimated mothers' subjective sleep quality.
Insana and principal investigator Hawley Montgomery-Downs, PhD, studied 22 couples who were first-time parents. The parents had an average age of 27.6 years, and data were collected from each couple an average of seven weeks after the birth of their child.
Parental sleep efficiency and total sleep time were measured by one week of continuous wrist actigraphy. Participants also used a Palm Pilot each morning to provide a subjective report of their sleep and the sleep of their partner.
At the end of this week, participants reported on their own and their partner's relationship satisfaction using the Comprehensive Marital/Relationship Satisfaction Scale.
Although the study did not allow for an examination of causality, Insana said that it is logical to presume that postpartum sleep disturbances have a negative effect on relationship satisfaction. So it is important for clinicians to help new parents prepare for the sleep challenges that they will face after the birth of a child.
"Preventative measures that target sleep during the postpartum period could potentially be used to buffer against decreases in relationship satisfaction among new parents," said Insana.
"Furthermore, positive parental relationship satisfaction has been previously associated with positive parenting behaviors; therefore, our current findings could be used to ultimately promote positive parenting and healthy infant development," Insana added.
he study was presented in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.
Source: ANI
"We were surprised to discover that objectively measured sleep predicted relationship satisfaction above and beyond the couples' subjectively reported sleep," said lead author Salvatore Insana, a graduate research assistant in the Sleep and Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory at West Virginia University in Morgantown.
AIDS and Pregnancy
The Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is brought about by the deadly human immunodeficiency virus. In the USA alone an estimate of 120,000 - 160,000 women are HIV- infected.
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"In other words, how parents actually slept had a greater impact on their relationship satisfaction than how they think they slept. This was true for both mothers and fathers," Insana added.
The study also found that first-time fathers were more satisfied than their partners thought they were: Mothers significantly underestimated fathers' self-reported relationship satisfaction. Mothers also overestimated fathers' self-reported sleep quality, while fathers underestimated mothers' subjective sleep quality.
Insana and principal investigator Hawley Montgomery-Downs, PhD, studied 22 couples who were first-time parents. The parents had an average age of 27.6 years, and data were collected from each couple an average of seven weeks after the birth of their child.
Parental sleep efficiency and total sleep time were measured by one week of continuous wrist actigraphy. Participants also used a Palm Pilot each morning to provide a subjective report of their sleep and the sleep of their partner.
At the end of this week, participants reported on their own and their partner's relationship satisfaction using the Comprehensive Marital/Relationship Satisfaction Scale.
Although the study did not allow for an examination of causality, Insana said that it is logical to presume that postpartum sleep disturbances have a negative effect on relationship satisfaction. So it is important for clinicians to help new parents prepare for the sleep challenges that they will face after the birth of a child.
"Preventative measures that target sleep during the postpartum period could potentially be used to buffer against decreases in relationship satisfaction among new parents," said Insana.
"Furthermore, positive parental relationship satisfaction has been previously associated with positive parenting behaviors; therefore, our current findings could be used to ultimately promote positive parenting and healthy infant development," Insana added.
he study was presented in San Antonio, Texas, at SLEEP 2010, the 24th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.
Source: ANI
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