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What happens when I sleep?Sleep goes through phases. Even if you think you've slept like a log, you won't have fallen into a deep sleep for the entire night.
There are four levels of sleep, and each is associated with a different type of brain activity. You cycle through these levels of sleep at night, gradually going from drowsiness into deeper sleep. During deep sleep your body is able to toss and turn and this is when you may have nightmares, or even sleepwalk.
From this deepest sleep you come back through the stages to lighter sleep, before going into dream sleep, also called rapid eye movement (REM). During REM sleep your body is very still, but your eyes will have bursts of activity every 30 seconds or so.
If you wake up during REM sleep, you'll probably say that you have been dreaming. During dream sleep your brain is very active and alert, which makes your breathing and heart rate prepare for activity, even though your muscles don't respond.
This first cycle takes about one hour 30 minutes. As you come out of REM sleep you are in a light sleep, and may even wake for a moment or two. You will then start the cycle again. As the night progresses the periods of REM sleep become longer, and you increasingly skip the deepest levels of sleep. So by the end of the night you are sleeping lightly and dreaming for much longer.
You go through about five of these cycles a night, if you get your full night's sleep. Waking between cycles is a natural part of the sleep cycle for adults and babies.
If you thought you'd woken up five times during the night, you'd probably say you hadn't slept well. But you usually won't remember waking because you'll just turn over, snuggle back into your pillow and go back to sleep. Because you came to the surface naturally, you won't regard this as a disturbance the next morning.
However when you reach the surface you may become aware of something being out of place, such as the smell of smoke, or your baby coughing. You may then wake up more fully to sort out the problem. If you are in an unfamiliar room, or worried, you probably won't go back to sleep, and these natural and brief wakings will turn into a restless night.
What happens if my sleep is disturbed?Being sleep deprived is debilitating and distressing, but it's quite common for parents of newborns.
If you're missing a whole night's sleep, or not getting enough sleep on consecutive nights, you may feel more emotional. You may lose your temper more easily and display poor judgement, finding it harder to solve problems. It will also affect you physically, but not as much as it affects your emotions.
Studies show that nine out of 10 people who have undisturbed sleep perform better than those who are sleep deprived. Though having disrupted sleep doesn’t stop you from functioning, it just makes it harder to carry out tasks, and you probably won't do things as well.
Sleep deprivation impacts on you and your partner both at work and at home. You may blame your baby for your lack of sleep, and lose your temper more easily with your partner. As lack of sleep affects emotions, and because those we love arouse our emotions, it is our families that often bear the brunt.
How will sleep deprivation affect me?The atmosphere at home may become tense and uncomfortable if you're exhausted. You may be so desperate for sleep that you doze off on the sofa, which can be risky if your baby is unsupervised.
Depression and problems with your partner both improve when a baby's sleep problem is resolved. If your baby has a peaceful night's sleep you'll probably feel on top of the world the next day. You will also have a lot more energy to cope with your lively baby.
How should I cope with sleep deprivation?If you're deprived of a whole night's sleep, you can catch up on following nights. If you're deprived of dream sleep, you will dream more when you next go to sleep. And if you don't have enough deep sleep, you'll have more deep sleep the next night.
Studies show that if we do not sleep for a few nights we eventually start to hallucinate. But how much and how disturbed you are varies from person to person. You may be hardly disturbed by a week without sleep, or very disturbed by just a couple of nights without your usual rest.
Catch up on sleep as often as possible. Studies suggest that that a short nap or two can replace quite a chunk of night-time sleep. So try to take several cat-naps during the day to allow your brain and body to revive. Rather than napping in the evening, which may stop you from sleeping properly later, try to have an early night instead.
Choose a time when your baby has her daytime naps to have yours, making your room as dark as possible. If you also have an older child it may be hard for you to find a time to nap. So consider asking your partner or a relative to mind your children while you get some much-needed rest.
Find out how to get more sleep.
Last reviewed: March 2012
ReferencesDrummond, S. P. A., Brown, G.A., Gillin, J.C., Stricker, J. L., Wong, E. C. and Buxton, R. B. 2000. Altered brain response to verbal learning following sleep deprivation. Nature. 403. pp.655-7.
Durant, V. M. and Mindall, J. A. 1990. Behavioural treatment of multiple childhood sleep disorders. Behaviour Modification. 14. pp.37-39.
Harrison, Y. and Horne, J.A. 2000. The impact of sleep loss on decision making: A review. Journal of Experimental Psychology:Applied. 6. pp.236-249.
Rottenberg, V.S. 1992. Sleep and memory 1: the influence of different sleep stages on memory (review) . Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews 16.. pp.497-502.