A study conducted by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers reveal that sleepless nights faced by new mothers may just be taking years off their life. The research, published in the journal Sleep Health, studied 33 mothers during their pregnancies and the first year of their babies’ lives, analysing the women’s DNA from blood samples to determine their “biological age”, which can differ from chronological age.
Scientists found that a year after giving birth, the biological age of mothers who left less than seven hours a night at the six-month mark was three to seven years older than those who logged seven hours or more. Mothers who slept less than seven hours also had shorter telomeres in their white blood cells. These small pieces of DNA at the ends of chromosomes act as protective caps, like the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces. Shortened telomeres have been linked to a higher risk of cancers, cardiovascular and other diseases, and earlier death.
UCLA’s George F. Solomon, Professor of Psychobiology, said, “The early months of postpartum sleep deprivation could have a lasting effect on physical health. We know from a large body of research that sleeping less than seven hours a night is detrimental to health and increases the risk of age-related diseases.”
The researchers reported that while participants’ nightly sleep ranged from five to nine hours, more than half of the participants were getting less than seven hours - both six months and one year after giving birth. Carroll, a member of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA's Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, said, “We found that with every hour of additional sleep, the mother’s biological age was younger. I, and many other sleep scientists, consider sleep health to be just as vital to overall health as diet and exercise.”
She urged new mothers to take advantage of opportunities to get a little extra sleep, like taking naps during the day when their baby is asleep, accepting offers of assistance from family and friends, and when possible, asking their partner to help with the baby.
Co-author Christine Dunkel Schetter, a distinguished professor of psychology and psychiatry at UCLA, said the study results "and other findings on maternal postpartum mental health provide the impetus for better-supporting mothers of young infants so that they can get sufficient sleep - possibly through parental leave so that both parents can bear some of the burdens of care, and through programs for families and fathers.”
Schetter added that while accelerated biological aging linked to sleep loss may increase women's health risks, it doesn't automatically cause harm to their bodies. "We don't want to convey the message that health of mothers are permanently damaged by infant care and loss of sleep," she emphasized. "We don't know if these effects are long-lasting.
