Maristella Lucchini, Sooyeon Suh, Shambhavi Thakur, Rebecca Robbins, Natalie Barnett
Presented at ESRS 2024
Introduction
Poor sleep is common among new parents. Additionally, due to the many necessities involved in caring for a baby, parents often struggle to find time for themselves. In other populations, it has been observed that the need to spend time alone may increase bedtime procrastination (BP). BP refers to the delay of one’s bedtime in the absence of external pressures. No study has examined new parents’ behaviors relating to BP. In this study, we describe the prevalence of BP among new parents and examine the relationship between BP, infant bedtime behaviors and parents’ desire to have time alone.
Methods
This study was conducted among 468 Nanit owner parents of infants 4-24 months old (83% mothers). Participants completed the BP Scale (BPS-score range 9-45), the Solitude and Aloneness Scale (SoIA-score range 12-60) and the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ-R), to asses bedtime difficulties (reference category:very easy). Objective infants' bedtime was collected from Nanit auto-videosomnography devices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear and ordinal regression analyses, depending on the variable structure, controlling for age of the infant and if the parent was the mother or father.
Results
The average BPS score was 28.86±4.08, indicating that participants commonly endorsed BP behaviors, with no significant difference between mothers and fathers. The average SolA score was significantly higher for mothers than fathers (39.9±10.0vs.36.2±10.4, respectively;p=0.01). Adjusted regression analysis revealed that higher SolA was predictive of higher BPS scores (B=0.053,SE=0.021,t(367)=2.5,p=0.013). Additionally, parents who reported later child bedtimes and that bedtime was somewhat/very difficult also reported higher BPS scores (Bedtime: B=0.43,SE=0.21,t(438)=2.04, p=0.04; Difficulties at bedtime: B=1.81,SE=0.68,t(342)=2.67, p=0.008)
Conclusion
Results suggest that BP is common among new parents and that parents who desire more time alone and whose infants have more difficulty, and later, bedtimes are more likely to engage in BP. The higher mean SoIA score for mothers indicates a greater desire in mothers to spend time alone. Future research is needed to explore the directionality of the relationships between BP, desires to be alone, and infant sleep among infant caregivers to best support sleep for infant and caregiver.
About the Researchers
The researchers included Maristella Lucchini, Aly (Sooyeon) Suh, Shambhavi Thakur, Rebecca Robbins, and Natalie Barnett.
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Dr. Maristella Lucchini serves as Senior Clinical Researcher at Nanit. In her role, Maristella works to secure grant funding in collaboration with Nanit’s university research partners and supports the development of the company’s research collaborations around the world. Previously, Maristella served as an Assistant Research Scientist in the Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she led projects across several cohorts focusing on sleep health for pregnant and postpartum women and their children. Maristella’s research focused on underserved communities and sleep health disparities in the perinatal period. During her years as a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry, Maristella was selected to participate in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Young Investigator Research Forum. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.
- Dr. Sooyeon (Aly) Suh is a clinical health psychologist and professor of psychology at Sungshin University, Dept. of Psychology. Broadly, her main interests lie in understanding how behavioral and psychological factors interact with physical health and eventually develop into chronic illness. Her specific interests are in behavioral sleep medicine, especially developing psychological treatments for sleep disorders. She is also very interested in women's mental health issues.
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Shambhavi Thakur serves as Clinical Research Data Analyst at Nanit. She holds a Masters degree in Health Informatics and Life Sciences. She oversees the research collaborations with various universities and analyzes sleep data for internal as well as external studies.
- Dr. Natalie Barnett serves as VP of Clinical Research at Nanit. Natalie initiated sleep research collaborations at Nanit and in her current role, Natalie oversees collaborations with researchers at hospitals and universities around the world who use the Nanit camera to better understand pediatric sleep and leads the internal sleep and development research programs at Nanit. Natalie holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of New England in Australia and a Postgraduate Certificate in Pediatric Sleep Science from the University of Western Australia. Natalie was an Assistant Professor in the Neurogenetics Unit at NYU School of Medicine prior to joining Nanit. Natalie is also the voice of Nanit's science-backed, personalized sleep tips delivered to users throughout their baby's first few years.