A survey reveals that parents lose an average of six months’ sleep during the first 24 months of their child’s life. Approximately 10% of parents manage to get just two-and-a-half hours continuous sleep each night, the Silentnight survey found.

Over 60% of parents with babies aged less than 24 months get no more than three-and-a-quarter hours sleep each night.

Silentnight sleep expert, Iftikhar Mirza, said:

An hour here and there doesn’t negate sleep debt.

Mirza advises parents to “take regular, gentle exercise to release endorphins, which should lower the risk of mood swings.”

According to the National Health Service (NHS), UK, the majority of healthy adults require from 7 to 9 hours sleep each night. As we get older we generally require less sleep. The average person aged over 70 years needs no more than 6 hours each night.

One of the complications felt by many parents whose initial months/years with a new baby disrupts their sleep patterns, is the development of a longer-term insomnia problem.

Insomnia, from the Latin “in” (not) and “somnus” (sleep), is a condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep and remaining asleep. It includes a broad spectrum of sleep disorders, from lack of quantity of sleep to lack of quality of sleep. Insomnia is often separated into three types. Transient insomnia occurs when symptoms last from a few days to a few weeks. Acute or short-term insomnia is when symptoms last for several weeks. Chronic insomnia is characterized by insomnia that lasts for months and years.

Insomnia itself may be a symptom of an underlying medical condition. However, there are several signs and symptoms that are associated with insomnia.