Get enough sleep - a way to help mothers lose weight after birth

You can't fit into old jeans even though you've given birth to a baby all year long? It may simply be that you lack sleep. In fact, sleep at night is as important as exercise and diet to lose weight.

Research on women who had first mothers showed that those who slept only five hours or less each day for six months after giving birth had a 3 times higher risk of retaining excess weight than mothers who slept 7 hours a day or more.

(Artwork: Askamum)

Sleep deprivation turned out to be " an independent risk " for postpartum weight loss, Erica P. Gunderson, a California scientist.

For many women, keeping weight after birth is a serious problem because it can lead to long-term weight gain. Some studies show that up to 20% of women still retain at least 5 pounds until 18 months after birth.

Lifestyle factors that contribute to this condition - such as maternal diet, physical activity and sleep time - have not been well studied, but as young mothers all know, in a year Early after giving birth, the mother's sleep is often interrupted or cut short.

In Gunderson's work, people analyzed the relationship between sleep and the weight-keeping status of postpartum mothers, over 940 people living in Massachusetts. One year after birth, 124 of them still hold 5 pounds or more of weight, compared to the time before pregnancy.

The team found that people who slept at least had a three-fold increased risk of losing weight, compared to women who slept for 7 hours or more a day. Breastfeeding does not make sense here.

However, the root of the problem does not seem to be clarified, because people also see the effects of obesity on sleep.