Want to lose that baby weight? Get some sleep

Want to lose that baby weight? Get some sleep
A mother and her toddler are shown in this undated file photo. Researchers presented a conundrum to new mothers on Monday, saying that women who want to lose the extra weight gained in pregnancy should try to get more sleep. (Kieran Doherty/Reuters)WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers presented a conundrum tonew mothers on Monday, saying that women who want to lose theextra weight gained in pregnancy should try to get more sleep.
They found that mothers who slept five hours or less a daywhen their babies were six months old were three times morelikely than more rested mothers to have kept on the extraweight at one year.
"We've known for some time that sleep deprivation isassociated with weight gain and obesity in the generalpopulation, but this study shows that getting enough sleep --even just two hours more -- may be as important as a healthydiet and exercise for new mothers to return to theirpre-pregnancy weight," said Erica Gunderson of KaiserPermanente, which runs hospitals and clinics in California.
Gunderson and colleagues studied 940 women taking part in astudy of prenatal and postnatal health at Harvard MedicalSchool in Boston.
The women who slept five hours or less a night when theirbabies were six months old were more likely to have kept on 11pounds (5 kg) of weight one year after giving birth, theyfound.
Women who slept seven hours a night or more lost moreweight, they reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The researchers acknowledged this may pose a dilemma to newmothers, given that infants sleep so fitfully.
"With the results of this study, new mothers must bewondering, 'How can I get more sleep for both me and my baby?'Our team is working on new studies to answer this importantquestion," said Dr. Matthew Gillman of Harvard Medical Schooland Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.