A new study has found that perception of poor sleep and the conscious awareness of its impact on daytime functioning might be stronger predictors of immediate postpartum mood disturbances than actual sleep quality and quantity in healthy new mothers.

It has been indicated by the results that both objective and subjective nighttime sleep significantly worsened with decreased total sleep time and sleep efficiency after giving birth. However, variables related to the subjective perception of sleep and sleep-related daytime dysfunction were stronger predictors of postpartum mood. After giving birth, subjective total sleep time at night fell from 437 minutes to 348 minutes, and mean subjective sleep efficiency decreased from 79 percent to 66 percent. Seventeen participants (46 percent) experienced some deterioration of mood after delivery.

While pregnancy is a joyous and exciting time, it also exposes women to many stressors, including disturbed sleep, lead author Bei Bei, DPsych, clinical psychologist at the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, said.

Bei said, "We were surprised that while objective sleep was not irrelevant, subjective perception of sleep shared a much stronger relationship with mood. Women who are concerned about their sleep and/or mood should speak to health care professionals about cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is effective for improving both sleep and mood."

Sleep and mood during the third trimester and one week postpartum in 44 healthy women at low risk for postpartum depression were measured by the two-stage longitudinal study. The average age of participants was 30 years, with a range from 18 to 41 years. The sample included 20 first-time mothers (45.5 percent) and 24 mothers with multiple children (54.5 percent). The majority of participants (91 percent) were married or in a stable relationship. (With Inputs from Agencies)