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What Happens When You Don't Get Enough Sleep
Postpartum sleep deprivation increases chronic stress, cellular wear, and hormonal imbalance. Adequate sleep of 7 hours is important to avoid these risks. The hormonal fluctuation amplifies the risk. Lack of sleep postpartum increases cortisol release, resulting in anxiety and stress. Fragmented sleep increases biological age, inflammation, DNA damage response, and mitochondrial stress. The brain is directly affected by a lack of sleep. It reduces prefrontal cortex activity and impairs decision-making ability. Even one night of sleep deprivation and fragmentation causes mood disturbances. Lack of sleep damages the serotonin pathway. It also increases inflammation, resulting in obesity, insulin resistance, and immune dysregulation.
Strategies to Survive Postpartum Sleep Deprivation
Postpartum mothers need more restful sleep. Limited sleep delays wound healing, weakens immunity, and increases inflammation. Deep sleep helps drive collagen formation and cell proliferation, supporting postpartum wound healing. Lack of sleep increases insulin resistance, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Here are a few ways to sleep better postpartum:Build Sleeping Opportunities
Postpartum sleep deprivation can leave mothers exhausted and fatigued. You can take short naps of 10-30 minutes while the baby sleeps. Micro naps restore adenosine clearance in the brain. The brain gets sleep pressure via adenosine buildup. Taking a short nap clears the buildup and counters fragmentation. Here are a few ways to take better and more frequent naps: - Nap with your infant: When the baby sleeps, nap during every other feed. Newborns spend most of their time sleeping due to their immature circadian rhythm.
- Shift with your Partner: Take 20-30 minutes of a nap while giving the baby to your partner or family member.
- Optimise the Environment: You can sleep better when the environment is dark or dim and cool. Keep your napping area distraction-free
Consolidated Sleep
Uninterrupted sleep, even for 3 hours, can reduce cortisol levels and improve cognitive function. Uninterrupted sleep resets hormones and supports cognitive repair, and reduces the risk of depression. Set a consistent time and avoid distractions and disruptions. This helps release growth hormone and glymphatic clearance of brain toxins.Prioritise consolidated sleep rather than total sleep hours. If you can get three to four hours of uninterrupted sleep, it's better than 8 hours of fragmented sleep.
Streamline Nighttime Routines
It helps reduce disruptions and increase consolidated sleep. Avoid bright lights and prolonged interactions at night to return to sleep efficiently. Prepare feeding and supplies the previous night and keep them within reach. - Arrange Supplies: At night, keep the changing pad, burp clothes, and expressed milk bottles within reach so you don't have to get up.
- Take Shifts: Let your partner handle a few tasks like changing diapers and cleaning the place every other day.
- While feeding: Lie sideways and don't turn on the light or phone.
- Post-Feed: Put your baby in the bassinet and rock the bassinet for a few minutes. Avoid eye contact and keep your eyes closed.
Sleep Sharing
Waking up alone at night can increase loneliness and postpartum mood disorders. Allowing your partner or family to do night duties early postpartum distributes the load, and you can also catch up on your sleep and heal better. Before sleeping, pump extra milk or keep a stack of expressed milk in the fridge to feed the baby.Light Therapy
Sleep deprivation disrupts the mother's circadian rhythm. Light therapy regulates body temperature and restores deep sleep. It also helps combat insomnia, fatigue, and postpartum depression. - Morning: 30-60 minutes of early morning sunlight wakes you up and improves your mood.
- Evening: Dim lights past 8 pm reduce waking.
- Red Light Therapy: Red light exposure may promote relaxation, reduce inflammation, and balance hormones.
Reduce Cognitive Overload
Bright light and blue light from mobile screens can suppress melatonin and disrupt sleep. Loud noises and mentally stimulating activities increase arousal and shorten sleep time. Keep the light dim and change the bed light from other colours to red. Avoid screens and other stimulating activities.Nutrition for Better Sleeping
Lack of sleep postpartum triggers ghrelin and cortisol, which reduce metabolism and increase cravings. Balanced nutrition stabilises blood sugar levels, boosts serotonin, and supports sleeping. Consuming magnesium and omega-3-rich foods reduces fatigue and improves sleep efficiency. Balanced plate with complex carbs, protein, and micronutrients reduces depression risk. Complex carbs prevent cortisol spikes. Protein and carbs reduce cravings. Coffee acts as a stimulant and hinders sleeping. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and support recovery.
The newborn’s circadian rhythms are still immature, and the baby wakes up frequently for feeding. Though the newborn spends most of their time sleeping, they still wake up 4-7 times at night. However, as the weeks progress, circadian cues begin to strengthen, and maternal sleep fragmentation declines.
It's challenging to eliminate postpartum sleep deprivation in the initial weeks. But with proper strategies and techniques, you can reduce the impact and achieve a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. A long uninterrupted sleep is important for both the mother and the baby to heal, increase bonding, and keep postpartum depression at bay.
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FAQs on Surviving Postpartum Sleep Deprivation 101: Practical Guide To Sleep And Heal Better
- How long does postpartum insomnia last?
Postpartum insomnia may resolve in weeks with proper care or it may persist months to years if untreated. Pain from birth, hormonal shifts, baby’s sleeping schedule, stress, and underlying issues don't follow scripts. Sleep depends on all these factors. - Is it normal to not be able to sleep postpartum?
It is completely natural to lose sleep after childbirth. After delivery, pregnancy hormones estrogen and progesterone dramatically drop and oxytocin and prolactin surge for milk production. These hormonal shifts, along with pain from C-section or vaginal birth, can also make sleeping difficult.