Authors: Georgie Hermitage (sleep consultant) & Suzie Booth (counsellor)
Sleep is a vital component of overall health, especially for new parents. However, sleep deprivation is a common challenge that can significantly impact mental health. This blog delves into the various ways sleep deprivation affects the mind, exploring both the short-term and long-term consequences. Whether you are a new parent or simply interested in the topic, understanding the mental impact of sleep deprivation can help you take proactive steps to mitigate its effects.
Understanding Sleep Deprivation
Sleep is vital for our wellbeing; it allows our bodies and brains to recover from the effects of the previous day, as well as helping us to form strong, lasting memories, build and repair muscle and tissue and ensure that our hormones are performing correctly (something that is especially important and difficult for new Mums). Most adults function best after 7-9 hours sleep, but studies show the average Brit only gets just over 6 hours per night – that means a sleep deficit of about 25 whole days per year (based on an ideal of 8 hours). So, think how much of a deficit new parents must be in. Poor sleep and poor mental/emotional health come hand in hand with one another and can become the ultimate vicious cycle. The old saying of “things will seem better in the morning” is true in most cases. During sleep our brains process and sort for us, if we haven’t had enough of that processing, sorting and a break, things won’t seem better in the morning and that’s where it starts to become difficult.
What is Sleep Deprivation?
Sleep deprivation occurs when an individual gets less sleep than they need to function optimally. For adults, this typically means less than seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to a cumulative sleep debt that significantly impacts cognitive and emotional functions.
Causes of Sleep Deprivation
Several factors contribute to sleep deprivation, including:
Parenthood: New parents often face interrupted sleep due to the needs of their infants.
Work Stress: High-stress jobs and long working hours can interfere with sleep patterns.
Health Issues: Conditions like insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome can disrupt sleep.
Lifestyle Choices: Irregular sleep schedules, excessive screen time, and substance use can negatively impact sleep quality.
Short-term effects of sleep deprivation
If you’re not getting enough sleep, short-term we will start to see signs of mental and emotional health struggles; feelings of anxiety, low mood, irritability, stress, erratic behaviour and cognitive impairment (forgetfulness, making mistakes, slow thinking). That sounds normal for new parent right? Yes, but that vicious cycle can then start; if sleep deprivation is causing feelings of anxiety your adrenaline levels are going to be heightened and you’re then constantly ready to fight or flight - essentially your body no longer feels safe. Our brains won’t then switch off and let us sleep. In order to sleep we have to relinquish control and allow our bodies and minds to rest and so we have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable – an anxious mind (one which doesn’t feel safe), or one that has been through trauma will struggle to do this. If we think about this from the perspective of new parents, they may have been through a traumatic delivery or feel generally on edge that they are responsible now for this little baby, or if baby is waking frequently they may be anticipating the next wake. This then means they may find it difficult to be able to fully give in to sleep and switch off. When baby is also not sleeping well and the deprivation effect of that is causing anxiety, the brain is then engaged in a cycle of feeling less and less safe and more and more hyperalert. So, we might start to see parents struggling to get to sleep even when baby has settled.
Sleep deprivation can also cause physical and behavioural issues short-term. You may experience somatic pain (that is muscular, tissue, bone or joint pain – so general tension and aches and pains). Behaviourally if our cognitive and memory functions are impaired we won’t be doing so well at work. And we probably won’t be doing so well in our social lives and relationships if we aren’t able to interact in our usual way or are starting to withdraw due to lack of energy or increased emotional challenges.
For new parents, what all this can do is highlight the complete and total destruction of their lives as they knew it. There are so many wonderful parts to becoming a new parent or parent of a subsequent child. But sleep deprivation is not one of them. If we are starting to feel those consequences we naturally then might start to resent baby for keeping us up, we might resent our partners if we don’t feel they are doing as much as us, we may feel lonely sat by ourselves in the middle of the night and be really grieving the freedom of life before. This isn’t going to allow us to be the parent we want to be – if we are resentful, anxious, stressed, low etc, we are likely to be standoffish, short tempered, preoccupied and it can even increase the chance of post-natal depression and decrease milk supply.
Long-term effects of sleep deprivation
Long-term, if sleep deprivation continues, we see a worsening of those short-term symptoms. And these can reach very difficult levels – we are talking about very high levels of anxiety, panic attacks, severe depression, delusions or even psychotic episodes. And then our general functioning and parenting will decline rapidly; we may not be able to work or may not be seeing friends or family and not attending to our baby in the way we need to.
But what we also see in long-term sleep deprivation is a major increase in physical health consequences. Our bodies really start to struggle. We might see high blood pressure and high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, an increase in risk of stroke and type 2 diabetes and even an increased risk of colon cancer. It is also going to exacerbate existing issues, such as gastrointestinal disorders.
Hopefully for new parents things won’t get to those long-term extremes, but if your baby is struggling with sleep and that is then impacting on you and your functioning it is vital to get support or implement changes before it becomes a long-term problem.
What to Do If Your Baby's Sleep Is Causing Sleep Deprivation
If your baby's sleep patterns are causing you sleep deprivation, it is essential to adopt strategies that can help both you and your baby get better rest. First, establish a consistent bedtime routine for your baby, including activities like a warm bath, gentle rocking, or reading a bedtime story. This routine can signal to your baby that it's time to sleep, promoting longer and more consistent sleep periods. Additionally, consider creating an optimal sleep environment for your baby by ensuring the room is dark, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature. Using a white noise machine can also help drown out background noise and soothe your baby to sleep. If your baby frequently wakes up during the night, try to identify and address any potential causes, such as hunger, discomfort, or a need for a nappy change. It might also be helpful to practice responsive settling techniques, where you comfort your baby without immediately picking them up, to encourage self-soothing. Finally, share nighttime responsibilities with your partner or family members. Coming up with a strategy or shift system can be very helpful. Furthermore, accept help if a friend offers to look after the baby while you sleep.
While you are getting through this period of difficult sleep it is also important to focus on your sleep window. Your sleep window is the period of time (the window of time) you give yourself to sleep. If you turn the light off at 10pm and have set your alarm for 6am, you have given yourself an 8-hour sleep window. However, if you know baby is awake for 2 hours of that, you are really only giving yourself a 6-hour sleep window. So, to get through this period of time you may need to extend that sleep window. Even going to bed an hour earlier is going to now give you a 7-hour sleep window. Which isn’t ideal, but is better than 6.
Get support with sleep
Do not hesitate to reach out for support. Seek advice from a sleep consultant who can diagnose the reason that your baby is not sleeping well and help you implement strategies for long-term improvements in your baby’s sleep. And if you’re struggling with those mental and emotional impacts of disrupted sleep then counselling can be a great place to unpick that and explore better ways of coping/making changes to your life.
About the Authors
Suzie Booth - Suzie is a qualified and accredited counsellor working in West Sussex. She works with individuals and couples and offers clinical supervision to other therapists. Suzie has two boys aged 3 and 9 months. See her website at www.sbcounselling.org
Georgie Hermitage - Georgie is an experienced, certified Infant Sleep Consultant and the owner of Aurora Sleep Consultancy. She lives in West Sussex with her husband and two children aged 3 and 1. See Georgie’s website at www.aurorasleep.co.uk
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