Mothers will not be surprised by a study that says that they get less sleep than fathers. Researchers looked at data on the sleeping habits of 5,800 men and women. They wanted to find out what affects their sleep. They found that having children in the house leads to less sleep for mothers. This negatively affects her daytime energy levels. The study found that fathers' sleep was mostly unaffected by having kids in the house.

Children are the biggest cause of mothers not sleeping. Dr Kelly Sullivan said each child increased a woman's risk of not sleeping by 46%. Just half of mothers under 45 with kids at home said they got seven hours of sleep a night. This figure was 62% for mothers with no kids at home. A lack of sleep is harmful. It increases the risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and depression. Dr Sullivan said we needed to help mothers get the rest they need.