The relationship between sleep and mood in postpartum women

Abstract

There is a well established association between sleep disturbance and major depression, yet the notion of a relationship between sleep and puerperal mood has only recently gained attention from researchers. The literature review explores the evidence for sleep disruption during pregnancy and the postpartum period, critically reviews existing studies investigating sleep and puerperal mood and identifies areas for further research. The review concludes that the limited evidence available supports an association between sleep and puerperal mood, but suggests that not all women with disturbed sleep will develop depressive symptoms. Perception of sleep disturbance, hormonal abnormalities or a unique EEG profile may discriminate between those women that develop postpartum depression and those who do not. Further studies are needed to clarify the nature of this relationship.

The empirical paper reports a study which explores the relationship between sleep and mood in women with and without a history of depression, utilising both objective and subjective sleep measures. A significant association was found between subjective but not objective sleep at one week postpartum and depressive symptoms in subsequent weeks. Women with a history of depression displayed greater subjective sleep disturbance and greater depressive symptoms than women without a history of depression. A significant effect of postpartum week was found for subjective sleep efficiency and depressive symptoms, with sleep improving and depressive symptoms reducing with time since birth. If replicated, this finding will enable professionals to identify women at an increased risk of developing postpartum depression and to offer intervention aimed at reducing sleep distress.

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