It’s easy to assume the chaos increases exponentially, the more kids you have. But there is actually one way things might get less chaotic as you add more kids to the mix, and it’s surprising: A recent study found that moms of five get the most sleep. But things get worse before they get better: Moms of three statistically get the least. Huh.
This is according to a study done by Amerisleep, looking at data from the American Use Of Time Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Interestingly, it also reveals we all might be getting more sleep than you’d think. Anyone is free to dig around in the data, and it shows the average amount of sleep for Americans over the age of 15 is 8.8 hours a day. Moms of five get an average of 9 hours of sleep. Moms of three, on the other hand, get the national average of 8.8. If that sounds like a hell of a lot more sleep than you thought moms were getting, we’re right there with you.
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Today, which first covered the story, pointed to reason moms of five might be extra good at getting sleep: Moms of five are used to balancing larger families, whereas moms of three are still learning the ropes. And while it might seem like good (or suspiciously impossible?!) news that apparently all moms are averaging over 8 hours a night nationally, the study doesn’t dig into newer moms vs moms of older children, teens, or even empty nesters. Parents of babies and young kids, for example, can face up to six years of disrupted sleep.
The study also doesn’t look at working mothers vs SAHMs. A Pew Study from 2014, for example, shows that working moms get 5 hours less sleep on average than non-working ones. In other words, don’t start getting any ideas that the best way to get more sleep might be having more kids.
In the meantime, if you’re looking to get that average of 8+ hours, check out some of our best tips to help you get there.
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