Dublin City University’s Restful Nights, Happy Days project has devised a 90-minute online workshop for first-time parents to be delivered between 28 and 35 weeks in their pregnancy
The aim is to enhance the wellbeing of new parents, improve sleep quality and reduce feelings of tiredness and fatigue
Here are some of the main points:
Newborn sleep
If parents are more aware of what normal newborn sleep patterns look like, they can have more realistic expectations. It’s particularly important, says postdoctoral researcher Aileen Leech, that they realise infants consolidate their sleep over 24 hours, whereas adults typically do that over eight hours
“We highlight that newborns are not born with the developed circadian rhythm, so that they will naturally wake every two to four hours for feeding or for comfort over a 24-hour period,” she says
Parents are now going to have to try to get their sleep over 24 hours too – despite a prevailing social norm, she says, that you can’t sleep during the day. “Whereas we say you absolutely can.”
Fall-out from lack of sleep
The importance of parental sleep is emphasised because a lack is likely to have a detrimental impact on wellbeing and ability to cope day to day
It can damage a couple’s relationship as well
Tips for insomnia
A huge asleep, even when their baby is sleeping. The workshop covers universal sleep hygiene advice, such as reducing screen time and cutting down on caffeine and alcohol
“What can be helpful as well is just exposure to natural daylight and a little bit of movement,” says Leech. “Getting out for a walk in the fresh air and some daylight, which is really simple, can be really effective.”
Ease the mind
At night-time, “brain dumping” – also known as “cognitive deescalation” – is recommended. Take a pen and paper and spend five minutes capturing racing thoughts about things that need doing
“When you write them down, your brain doesn’t have to hang on to them. You can let all of that stress out; you’re signalling to your brain you can rest.”
Calm the body
What we talk about is physiological downregulation, says Leech, to prepare the body for sleep
Something as simple as deep breaths in for four seconds, out for six
Review sleeping arrangements
As delighted as first-time parents may be with their new family unit, sleeping together in one room can be a struggle
For the first six months, it is recommended that a baby sleeps in a cot in the same room as at least one of the parents
While a couple may regard bed-sharing as sacrosanct, some nights, or even hours, in separate rooms might be the saving of their sanity. This is not just for fathers; if a sleeping baby’s movements in the cot keep the mother awake, she should try to take some time apart
We would say whatever works for your family because circumstances vary, says Leech. “There’s different ways that couples can show their care and consideration, love, intimacy without having to share a bed.”
