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People are losing more than a full month of sleep a year (32 days) on average when caring for a newborn compared to before
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Women are losing a full seven days more sleep than men (33 days a year for women and 26 for men)
Modern lifestyles mean it’s not just the parents who are impacted by the arrival of a new baby. A new survey* from Owlet Baby Care, the health technology company founded by a team of parents, reveals.
Responsibilities for looking after the baby is often spread between various ‘carers’ including grandparents, godparents, aunties, uncles and also friends. With the impact felt by all. Seven in 10 (70%) say their sleep is worse since caring for the baby, losing two hours and 15 minutes of sleep each night; almost a third (29%) of the total sleep they had before the baby arrived. Women take the biggest hit, losing in total an average of 33 days a year of sleep compared to dads who lose 26 days.
Effects of sleep deprivation
Almost a quarter of men (22%) reveal that lack of sleep has led them to fall asleep at work, one in ten (12%) at the dinner table and a quarter in the bath (24%).
Relationships are also being affected with almost six out of 10 carers who’ve suffered from deprivation saying it has led them to have more arguments with their partners. Over half (51%) of men reported a negative impact on their performance at work, whilst over a quarter (47%) of women reported negative impacts on their friendships.
The hovering habit
Connie Simpson, top Hollywood nanny to stars including Justin Timberlake, Emily Blunt and Jessica Alba, explains: “Most parents and carers who make it through the feeding, changing, and even getting their little one down to sleep, still do not sleep themselves. The reason they aren’t sleeping is that they are hovering – constantly checking on their little one while they’re sleeping.”
Outside of naturally waking due to the baby crying and needing to feed the baby, over a third of carers experience poor quality sleep due to worrying whether the baby is breathing properly (37%) and whether it is sleeping in the right position (28%).
Grandparents (50%) are most likely to worry whether the baby is breathing properly, whereas aunties and uncles (40%) are most likely to worry about its sleep position. Indicating nervousness perhaps over caring for someone else’s baby, negatively impacting their quality of sleep.
Watching over the baby
Almost a third (31%) of respondents sleep best when someone else is there to watch over the baby. A luxury that not all new parents will have.
Connie Simpson concludes: “As a parent you react to every little whimper, breath, and movement, so I recommend the Owlet Smart Sock as a parent must-have. It provides parents with a peace of mind that their little one is ok by notifying them if their heart rate or oxygen levels are outside of preset zones. Offering parents that peace of mind is key to making sure they are getting quality sleep that allows their mind and body to relax. I first learnt about the product from Jessica Alba!”
Jake Colvin, co-founder of Owlet and father-of-three, comments: “The first year of life poses the greatest stress for parents and, as revealed in this survey*, grandparents, aunties, uncles and friends as well.”
“Advanced technology, such as our Smart Sock, now exists to help make newborn carers’ jobs that little easier. Providing them with peace of mind that their baby is okay. And hopefully helping them to sleep sounder at night.”
