Sleep Deprivation Worsens Postpartum Depression

I don't know. I think I'd put this in the category of "Did they really need to spend money on research to figure this out??" I suppose I shouldn't be a pain in the butt about it, but it feels obvious. Anyway, ignore me and read on: "A study published in the current issue of the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing shows that depression symptoms worsen in PPD patients when their quality of sleep declines. Sleep deprivation can hamper a mother's ability to care for her infant, as judgment and concentration decline. Sleep-deprived mothers also may inadvertently compromise their infants' sleep quality because infants often adopt their mothers' circadian sleep rhythms. All new mothers experience some sleep loss following childbirth, as their estrogen and progesterone hormone levels plunge. They typically spend 20 percent more of the day awake than average during the first six weeks postpartum. Postpartum women...