This news might not come as a great surprise to mothers, but a new study finds that mothers get less sleep than fathers. Researchers at Georgia Southern University in the USA analyzed data on the sleeping habits and patterns of nearly 3,000 women and 3,000 men. They wanted to get to the bottom of what influences adults’ sleep. The researchers discovered that having children in the house leads to less sleep for many mothers. Motherhood greatly reduced the number of hours a mother slept each night. Unsurprisingly, this had an adverse effect on mothers’ energy levels and tiredness during the day. The study found that fathers’ sleep remained largely unaffected by having kids in the house.

The study shows that children were the biggest cause of mothers’ less sleep. Dr Kelly Sullivan, co-author of the report, said each child increased a woman’s risk of sleep shortage by 46 percent. In addition, 48 percent of mothers under 45 get an average of seven hours of sleep a night, compared with 62 percent of women of the same age who did not have children at home. Dr Sullivan said a lack of sleep is bad for both physical and mental health. It increases the risk of diabetes(糖尿病), obesity(肥胖症), cardiovascular(心血管的) disease and depression(抑郁). She added, “It’s important to learn what is keeping people from getting the rest they need, so we can help them work towards better health.”