KEY POINTS:
Researchers have presented a conundrum to new mothers, saying that women who want to lose the extra weight gained in pregnancy should try to get more sleep.
They found that mothers who slept five hours or less a day when their babies were 6 months old were three times more likely to have kept on the extra weight at one year than more rested mothers.
"We've known for some time that sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain and obesity in the general population, but this study shows that getting enough sleep - even just two hours more - may be as important as a healthy diet and exercise for new mothers to return to their pre-pregnancy weight," said Erica Gunderson of Kaiser Permanente, which runs hospitals and clinics in California.
Gunderson and colleagues studied 940 women taking part in a study of prenatal and postnatal health at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
The women who slept five hours or less a night when their babies were 6 months old were more likely to have kept on 11 pounds (5kg) of weight one year after giving birth, they found.
- Reuters
