New Research on Babies, Parents and Sleep
A recent
study found that mothers and fathers experience
more sleep disruption at night following the birth of their baby then
they did during the last month of pregnancy. Mothers reported more
sleep disturbance than fathers, but there was no gender difference in
ratings of fatigue. Fathers reported getting less total sleep than
mothers when sleep was objectively measured throughout the entire
24-hour day.
Newborn babies can laugh while sleeping soon after
birth, reports the Daily Yomiuri, a Japanese newspaper. Researchers at
the University of the Sacred Heart and the Primate Research Institute
at Kyoto University found newborn infants began laughing as early as 17
days after their birth. The study suggests that babies begin to develop
emotions and the means of expressing them at a much earlier age than
previously believed. The findings were presented at a symposium in
Kyoto recently. If you're the parent of a newborn, check out our
updated
Children and Sleep page.
Siesta-Consulting, Margaretenstr. 38/26, A-1040 Wien,