Nine tips for parents who sleep little: if you don't rest, you notice it and your baby notices it

Sleep (at least the pull) and parenthood seem to be incompatible activities. We all know how uphill things are done when we haven't rested, right? In addition, sleeping poorly and badly has other negative consequences ... But don't despair, I tell you what they are and what we can do to try to get some rest.

The effects of little sleep (and bad)

Sleeping less hours than recommended (7 or 8) or doing it with constant interruptions can have consequences, especially if it is a situation, such as in the case of having had a baby, long-term or in which enough nights are chained in consecutive sail.

Some of the consequences of lack of sleep are:

  • Cognitive level: difficulty in providing and maintaining attention, worse memory both in the short and long term, worse execution of tasks (less ability to solve problems), less cognitive flexibility ...

  • This in turn can lead us to, for example, be less productive at work or to increase the risk of traffic accidents: Being awake for more than 19 or 20 hours leaves our ability to react as if we were above the legal blood alcohol limit for driving.

  • Increased risk of suffering postpartum depression

  • Increase the feeling of hunger.

  • It can make us gain more weight.

  • It makes us in a worse mood and that can affect, in addition to ourselves, our children. Apparently lack of sleep leads us to have difficulty expressing joy and affection both verbally and nonverbally. The results of one study indicated that tired parents took longer (and put less) faces corresponding to positive emotions, another indicated that when we are tired we seem sadder ... all this could affect, as a third study indicates, the emotional development of their babies (part of the social and emotional development of babies is produced by imitating the expressions of father and mother).

  • A less satisfaction with the couple (Although this is probably due in large part to the problems of dynamics and organization, the adaptation to changes in roles ... not just the lack of sleep per se).

What can we do to rest when we have a baby

In any case, the fact that we know that fatherhood carries with it a certain alteration of sleep does not mean that we abandon ourselves to the idea of ​​never resting: there are things we can do to try to alleviate the lack (and alteration) of sleep.

Here are some recommendations Among those are those of the National Sleep Foundation (United States) to try to improve the quality / quantity of sleep of the parents:

  • Sleep with him baby in the same bed (colecho) to facilitate night shots and calm it without getting out of bed (and unveiling it).
  • Do not use baby monitor at night in case the little one is in another room: throughout the night the little ones make a thousand and one noises while they are asleep (or in micro-awakenings of those who go back to sleep in zero coma) and the monitor will activate waking us up any. It is preferable to leave the doors open so that we can listen to you in case you cry or demand us.
  • Avoid using mobile phones or tablets (backlit screens) in the hours close to bedtime as they cause us to reveal ourselves. In the same way in the case of night shots or waking up of the baby using the mobile is not a good idea because when the child falls asleep it is likely that we have hustled. If in spite of everything you are going to use it, try to make the screen lighting as dim as possible and that the contents you see are not very stimulating and rather passive, such as videos (that is, do not get to look for things from work or those furniture that you need for the living room because you are going to reveal it for sure).
  • Control the room lighting: at night leave the blinds cast to prevent daylight from waking you up. Although we have closed eyelids when sleeping we detect when it is day and the brain understands that it is time to "turn on."
  • Also try minimize noise: If one of the two has to get up early to go to work, leave your little things ready outside the room the night before and when you get up try to resemble as little as possible an elephant in a pot shop (you know what I I mean, right?)
  • Set shifts to sleep: According to the aforementioned Foundation, the ideal is to take turns at night so that at least we can sleep a whole night of every two. How? Sleeping in another room or resorting directly to the use of earplugs.
  • In the event that, miracle, you can take a nap of those bed and pajamas, little eye, do not go over that then you will alter (more) your sleep cycles and that night is going to be the lironda monda.
  • No copious meals before going to bed (however much they call you from the plate those two portions of pizza that have been left over from dinner).

The famous "sleep when the baby sleeps"

I dedicate a whole point to this because it has its crumb ... The truth is that I hate having to include it "as advice" because I am very aware of the anger it gives when they tell you and you are unable to fall asleep in that half hour that your little one takes a nap (I have lived it in my mommy's flesh), but the reality is that a little yes that we should comply with.

Note: before repudiating me for giving you this advice so manic, read on, I explain how to take advantage of those minutes of sleep of your child.

The first thing is to establish our priorities and have them very very clear: it is clear that you have to eat, that the house has to have a certain level of hygiene and that we like to wear clothes that do not smell like the house of the beasts of the zoo, but ... But we need to sleep, as I have explained before, so we should try to organize ourselves so that we cover the basics but we can rest. Ask for help if you need it, it is very important.

You may not be able to fall asleep when your baby falls asleep (we do not have an off button in the brain - what a shame! -) but you can take a little while and rest a little. But that is not sleep! Well ... yes and no. I explain: it is possible that you do not get to enter the phases of deep sleep, which are the most repairing, but you do reach the most superficial ones, which is worth it, they do not recharge both the battery and the others, but they do allow us to continue working a little.

The million dollar question is ... why don't children sleep on the pull, please? Brain maturity, patterns and sleep habits, hereditary factors ... there are many variables and possible explanations. For there are even those who point out (theories are there for everything) that the kids wake up at night to prevent dad and mom from making a little brother ... what do you think?

One thing does seem to be clear: sleep you will sleep less now you have a little one, the point is that to see if with a little luck, some help and these tips you get a little rest and have the battery ... well, at less than 50%

Photos: Pixabay.com

In Babies and more: Babies sleep better when both parents get involved in their care