The less your baby sleeps, the more tired you are, right? Well, maybe not. According to some research, parental fatigue may not be as closely related to how their babies sleep as you might think. In fact, instead of parental fatigue being due to a baby’s disturbed sleep, your perception of your baby’s sleep may be affected by your own fatigue and sleep quality[1]!
A Finnish study showed that parents who were more fatigued and reported lower quality rated their child’s sleep worse than parents who were less fatigued. However, when measuring the child’s sleep with actigraphy, the researchers found that there were no measurable differences between the actual sleep of children with fatigued parents and children with non-fatigued parents. Of course, if your baby is up a million times a night you are going to feel more tired, but it seems like there is more to the equation than just how your baby sleeps [1].
There is a lot of research right now going into the subjective perception of fatigue and what we can do about it. For example, another study showed that interventions that improve mood and functioning during the day also improve the self-reported evaluation of sleep. So, even if you get a poor night’s sleep because your baby is teething, doing things to improve your mood and functioning levels during the day may make you think that you actually got more sleep than you really did [2].
How amazing is this?? Optimizing a baby’s sleep takes consistency and time. Gentle, non-cry it out interventions take time. There is no quick fix for a baby’s sleep and even when babies sleep well, moms are often really tired. Luckily, there is so much that you can do, both to improve the quality of your sleep AND to improve your mood and functioning during the day.
For example, here are four strategies to improve your sleep quality and your mood/functioning during the day. *Not medical advice. Speak to your doctor before taking any supplement or herb.
Herbs
I love herbs for energy, mood, and improving sleep quality. Two of my most commonly used herbs for postpartum moms are Ashwagandha and Rhodiola. Ashwagandha is a relaxing adaptogen that helps restore normal sleep during times of chronic stress. Taking Ashwagandha will not make you more tired. Instead, it will restore the health of the nervous system. During pregnancy, a mom’s autonomic nervous system experiences an increase in sympathetic activity and a decrease in parasympathetic activity to better support the growing baby. A gentle adaptogen such as Ashwagandha can support the recovery of the nervous system [3,4].
Rhodiola is another adaptogen that I use frequently postpartum. It is an adaptogen that can improve mood and the stress response. Studies on Rhodiola have found decreased mental fatigue, improved sleep patterns, and greater mood stability [5].
Sunlight
Morning sunlight is a wonderful strategy for boosting energy levels. Not only does getting outside in the morning sun improve your mood and give you an energy boost, but it also helps with your sleep quality. Those who get morning sunlight have an easier time falling asleep and have higher melatonin levels [6.7].
Exercise
Exercise improves mood and energy levels. Even as little as 10 minutes of intentional movement a day can improve energy levels. Exercise can also increase melatonin production and increase sleep quality [6,8].
Meditation
Meditation and mindfulness-based practices can support the recovery of the nervous system postpartum, increase energy, and improve sleep quality. While a regular meditation practice would be ideal, pausing throughout the day to take a few deep breaths can help with subjective energy levels [9].
Being postpartum is hard and exhausting. While your energy levels will absolutely be affected by how your baby sleeps, it is exciting to know that we have more control over how we feel.
For more, see my blog on postpartum fatigue here: Postpartum Fatigue | Whole Health Baby | Dr. Kate Purvis ND and watch this space for my upcoming mini-course on managing postpartum fatigue. Want to be the first to be informed of my new courses? Follow me on Instagram here: Whole Health Baby (@drkatepurvis) | Instagram and make sure to sign up for my newsletter!
Sources:
1.Rönnlund H, Elovainio M, Virtanen I, Matomäki J, Lapinleimu H. Poor Parental Sleep and the Reported Sleep Quality of Their Children. Pediatrics. 2016 Apr;137(4):e20153425. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-3425. Epub 2016 Mar 24. PMID: 27012745
2. Fatanah Ramlee, MHSc and others, What Sways People’s Judgment of Sleep Quality? A Quantitative Choice-Making Study With Good and Poor Sleepers, Sleep, Volume 40, Issue 7, July 2017, zsx091, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsx091
3. Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Malvi H, Kodgule R. An investigation into the stress-relieving and pharmacological actions of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Sep;98(37):e17186. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000017186. PMID: 31517876; PMCID: PMC6750292
4. Ryan L. Brown, Christopher P. Fagundes, Julian F. Thayer, Lisa M. Christian, Longitudinal changes in HRV across pregnancy and postpartum: Effect of negative partner relationship qualities, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 129, 2021, 105216, ISSN 0306-4530, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105216.
5. Ivanova Stojcheva E, Quintela JC. The Effectiveness of Rhodiola rosea L. Preparations in Alleviating Various Aspects of Life-Stress Symptoms and Stress-Induced Conditions-Encouraging Clinical Evidence. Molecules. 2022 Jun 17;27(12):3902. doi: 10.3390/molecules27123902. PMID: 35745023;
6. Lee H, Kim S, Kim D. Effects of exercise with or without light exposure on sleep quality and hormone reponses. J Exerc Nutrition Biochem. 2014 Sep;18(3):293-9. doi: 10.5717/jenb.2014.18.3.293. Epub 2014 Sep 11. PMID: 25566466; PMCID: PMC4241899.
7. Mead MN. Benefits of sunlight: a bright spot for human health. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Apr;116(4):A160-7. doi: 10.1289/ehp.116-a160. Erratum in: Environ Health Perspect. 2008 May;116(5):A197. PMID: 18414615; PMCID: PMC2290997
8. Dolezal BA, Neufeld EV, Boland DM, Martin JL, Cooper CB. Interrelationship between Sleep and Exercise: A Systematic Review. Adv Prev Med. 2017;2017:1364387. doi: 10.1155/2017/1364387. Epub 2017 Mar 26. Erratum in: Adv Prev Med. 2017;2017:5979510. PMID: 28458924; PMCID: PMC5385214.
9. Kimberley Luu, Peter A. Hall. Examining the Acute Effects of Hatha Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation on Executive Function and Mood. Mindfulness, 2016; 8 (4): 873 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0661-2