Did you catch that? It's not news to me, but Reuters is reporting (and reminding many of us already in the know) that new moms should pay more attention to their sleep habits if they are to watch those extra pounds slip away. Harvard Medical School has presented research showing that women who sleep five hours or less a day when their babies are six months old are three times more likely than more rested mothers to have kept the extra weight on at the one-year mark.
Full disclosure: I'm not a woman and can't imagine what it's like to 1) be pregnant, and 2) lose that baby fat. But I am keenly aware of the frustrations that many women go through as they juggle motherhood and post-natal weight issues.
One of the rumors that frequently travels in women's circles is the
notion that if you don't lose the extra weight from pregnancy within a
year of giving birth, you're doomed to keep it forever (or at least
have serious trouble getting rid of it). I don't think that's backed by
science, but I bet there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to show for
it. Wouldn't it be great if you could literally sleep those pounds off
(and forget about focusing so much on changing your diet and doing more
exercise)?
The caveat, of course, is finding the time to get those precious Zs
with a new infant in your life. But here's something else to think
about: because we know that obesity and weight gain go hand in hand
with sleep deprivation, the better anyone sleeps, the more likely one
is to lose weight and keep it off. This is true whether you're a
lactating mother or a doting father. So start negotiating with your
husband or significant other. Share with him this "news" about sleep
being a secret path to ideal weight (which is also something to think
about this holiday weekend as you stuff yourself with food and likely
have extra time to sneak in a few more hours of sleep). Maybe you can
find ways to co-parent more evenly and give each other a helping hand
when sleep is at stake.
Or is that totally unrealistic?