Perceived Toddler Sleep Problems, Co-sleeping, and Maternal Sleep and Mental Health.
Lauren B Covington, Bridget Armstrong, Maureen M Black
PMID 29570568WHAT IT FOUND
Perceived toddler sleep problems linked to poorer maternal mental health, but only via reduced sleep in co-sleeping mothers.
Non-co-sleeping mothers showed no such link. All mothers averaged under 7 hours sleep, regardless of arrangement.
Key findings
01Perceived toddler sleep problems were associated with shorter maternal sleep duration only among co-sleeping mothers, with no significant relation for non-co-sleeping mothers.
02Shorter maternal sleep mediated the link between perceived toddler sleep problems and increased depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress, but this indirect effect was significant only for co-sleeping mothers.
03Regardless of sleeping arrangements or perceptions of toddler sleep problems, mothers in the study reported sleeping an average of less than 7 hours per night.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that perceived toddler sleep problems caused maternal mental health issues; the direction of effect is uncertain. Toddler sleep problems were defined solely by maternal perception using a single question, not by objective measures or clinical diagnosis. The study did not assess if co-sleeping was continuous throughout the night, so partial co-sleeping effects are unknown. The models accounted for a small percentage of the variation in maternal sleep and mental health, suggesting other unmeasured factors are important. The sample was limited to low-income families, so findings may not generalize to other socioeconomic groups.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that stopping co-sleeping will improve maternal mental health. This study is cross-sectional and shows an association, not causation. Furthermore, the link between perceived sleep problems and poor mental health was absent in non-co-sleeping mothers, suggesting the mechanism is complex and not simply about the sleeping arrangement itself.